Smooth Criminal
by revolt-against-humanity
Summary: She was just a girl that turned out into a criminal. But when she got the letter, everything changed. SoapxOC, rating may change. My first Call Of Duty story, please read and review.
1. Prologue

**This is my first Call Of Duty fanfic that's why any review are welcome (except for the really really really really really mean ones)**

**Full Summary: Chloe Salling was just an innocent girl that turned into a smooth criminal. But one day she gets the letter she's been waiting for ten years, and everything changes. She gets the chance to avenge her father, but what if an unlikely romance blossoms on her way? Will it help her with the revenge or will it be just another pain to deal with?**

**Prologue.**

It was a dark afternoon. A tall man was walking down the streets, looking suspiciously at people who were passing by. Occasionally, he turned his way around, just for safety, in case there was someone following him. In his big arms he was carrying a sleeping figure, a ten year old girl. She was asleep, tired and there were dry tears on her face. She had short blond hair, a really pale skin and emerald green eyes, the same color her dad had. That eye color was a distinct sign of her family. That eye color marked her life with a red X.

In the distance, the man could see his destination: a tall, lifeless, grey building. He approached the door and carefully opened it, trying not to wake his daughter. In the lounge room an old man, greeted him with a short nod and waved his hand in the direction of the elevators. Without losing any minute he ran down the corridor and pressed the button to call the elevators down. When the elevator finally arrived, he entered and pressed the seventh floor button.

"Chloe." He gently said, trying to wake his daughter up. She lazily popped an eye open, and looked at her father. He smiled at her, but the smile faded away as he realized this was probably the last time they're going to see each other.

"Daddy, what's going on?" she asked confused as they arrived at the seventh floor. He didn't reply, because he knew it wasn't safe. They walked to the room 714. He took they key out from the pocket inside his jacket and opened the door. It was a small room with a bed, a small TV with a telephone and a closet. There was also a door leading to the bathroom and a balcony. As soon as they entered, the man locked the door. He knelt down to be the same level as his daughter and put his hands on her shoulders.

"Chloe, listen to me and listen closely. But first, you need promise you'll make everything that I say." Chloe nodded confused as ever, trying to fight the tears back, her dad took a deep breath and continued.

"Those are some bad times and you need to be strong.". He took her hand and led her to the balcony. There were stairs, for fire-plan evacuations. "You're going to do get down quietly as possible and very quick. Then you'll turn the right corner and there Uncle Fred will be waiting for you." He looked at his daughter and ran a hand through his blond hair.

"Daddy…" she couldn't finish the sentence, because the phone started to ring. The man walked and picked it up.

"They're here." said the voice that belonged to the old man from the reception "You have less than three minutes to get the hell out of there", with that he hung up. The man quickly opened the door to the balcony, kissed his daughter for the last time and handed a small envelope.

"Honey, when you're going to be grown up, you'll receive a blank letter. When you do, you'll open this envelope. But you can't open it sooner. Got it?" she nodded, tears running down her pale cheeks. They hugged for the last time. "I'm sorry it had to be like this." Then they heard loud knocking on the door, just like somebody needed to break in. "Run." The man said and Chloe started running down the evacuation stairs, vision blurry because of the tears.

Then a loud gunshot filled her ears. She stopped looking up at the seventh floor balcony's window that was covered in a red liquid. _Blood_. She couldn't stop, she promised her dad. When she turned the corner, a black car with black windows was parked there. A tall man, with red hair and dark glasses was standing there, expecting the little girl. When Chloe saw her uncle, she ran to him and hugged him tightly.

"Where's Bill?" asked Fred. Chloe couldn't say it. She just stayed silent, sobbing into her uncle's chest. He knew what that meant. "We have to go, we can't waste time." He said, trying to keep calm. He put the girl into the back of the car, and sat in the driver's seat. Chloe hugged her knees, the envelope clutching tightly in her hands. She looked at her uncle and she could swear that she saw tears and sorrow in his eyes.

**I know it's short, but that's just the prologue. Tune in for my next update and don't forget to review! Have a good morning/afternoon/evening/night! :)**


	2. Chapter 1

Chloe was sitting on one of the benches in the police station's holding cell. She was staring into the darkness, her mind blank. Two other men were playing cards on the stone floor. They already got used to her visits. On the other hand, a young man, kept stealing glances at her. Well, it was unusual: a pretty twenty year old girl just sitting in this cold cell, waiting to get the hell out of there. Even if she was looking into nothing, those looks still annoyed her.

"Do you have a problem with me?" she asked in an irritated tone, and the poor guy quickly turned around, looking suddenly interested in the card game. The men just chuckled lightly. Then a police officer came and unlocked the door.

"You" he said pointing at the girl "out, now!".

"Finally." She muttered under her breath. She stood up and followed the officer out. In the reception room, she saw her uncle shaking hands with another officer. When he saw her, his face hardened. Fred said a "thank-you" to the officer and went through the door, Chloe following behind.

The car ride was silent and cold. The only sound that could be heard was the sound of the raindrops as they pelted against the glass windows. Strangely, the streets were empty even if it was nine in the evening.

She could tell that her uncle was pissed off. He was angrily tapping his fingers on the driving wheel.

"Sixth time this week!" he said in a harsh voice.

"Seventh." corrected him Chloe.

"Do you even know how much money I spent on getting you out?" he questioned.

"Considering on how much you stole from innocent people…" she started, but couldn't finish because they arrived at her house.

"I did not steal it! I work as a lawyer and you should be grateful!" he said waiting for his niece to open the door. "If I wasn't a lawyer, you would be probably in jail for the rest of your life. You should really reconsider your life and priorities."

"Well I'm sorry that I'm a criminal!" she snapped at him. "It's hard not to be one especially when it runs in your blood. _Especially_ when your father is a killer."

"He was not a killer. He was a soldier trying to save people's lives!" her uncle said trying to protect the dignity of his dead brother.

"Yeah, and failed miserably!"- argued Chloe. Their voices were echoing in the house. After a minute of silence, Fred spoke again.

"Your father was the bravest man I ever knew. He sacrificed his life to save yours. And you should be thankful to him!"

"Fine, I'll thank him when I'll see him in hell!" –she yelled back.

Her uncle leaved, slamming the door. She took a deep breath and went to take a shower.

She was living alone in a house her uncle bought for her eighteen-birthday. And for a twenty year old girl, she had a "colorful" life. It stared after she learnt the truth about her father. She turned cold, lifeless and criminal. Her first "act" happened when she was twelve, but she didn't get caught. After painting the school walls with spray at fourteen, she got caught. Then at sixteen she stole a car. After that she spent two years at the Juvenile Hall. When she was eighteen she got out and moved here, Rosewood. But her criminal life didn't stop. Stealing was her favorite: from small things like Tiffany's to cars. But thanks to her uncle's money, she wasn't spending her time at prison. But, after actions like that, the whole town knew about her. Moms were telling their kids to stay away from her, teenagers were gossiping about her and grown men and women were walking the other way when they saw her. She was blamed for everything that happened in Rosewood. One time she got attacked by a drunken man that wanted to rape her. For protection, she broke his nose. After that he got ten thousand dollars, because he said that Chloe attacked him. But she didn't mind as long her uncle paid and she was alone.

Chloe was looking different among other girls. She had blond, almost white, long, straight hair. She was really tall but had anorexia since her life at Juvie. But the most interesting thing about her was her emerald green eyes. It was a distinct sign of her family. Also, she was the first girl in three generations that was born.

After a long and hot shower she took the bailing out check, and put it in a wooden box along with other ones. There were other things among the checks: stolen things, some candy, hair bands and an envelope. The same envelope she received from her father ten years ago. She lost every hope that someday the mysterious blank letter will come and she would finally open in. The bad side of her told her to open it and read what's inside. But the remaining of her good side told her to keep the promise to her dad and wait.

To relax she decided to go to the club. She tied her hair in a ponytail, put on her black skinny jeans, a white tank top, a leather black jacket and army boots and went outside. The rain stopped and she could see that people were walking down the streets. She got in her car, Ford 1967 Mustang, and drove off to the club. The rode was empty, because everyone in town knew to keep away from that car. She arrived fast, at the most popular club in town: "BloW" The people hanging there were basically men and sluts. But she never went to clubs to dance, or meet somebody or party. She usually just took two shots of Jack Daniels and went home.

When she entered the smell of alcohol and cigarettes filled her nose. She walked to the bartender and ordered her drink. Another guy sat next to her. She couldn't see his face because of the constant light change, but she could definitely tell that he wasn't from town.

"Do you come here much?" the man asked her in a clear Russian accent.

"Not really" she replied. "You don't look like you're from this town"

"Really? What gave that away? My accent?" he asked in a sarcastic tone.

"Haha." She replied with sarcasm. "No, not that. You just don't look like the three types of men that hang out here"

"Hmm, what types?" he asked clearly amused. Chloe smirked. She pointed to some guys snogging some whores.

"Ladies and gentleman, exhibit number one: the drunk-n-whore type. Basically, guys that get drunk, hire some of those and then wake up in the morning hell knows where with the money gone." Then she pointed at some guys having a fight. "Exhibit number two: drunk-n-fight type. Just the guys that come here with friends, get drunk and start fighting with each other." Then she pointed at some guys that were either drinking or already asleep. "The last but not least, exhibit number three: the drunk-n-sleep guys. They get so drunk that they just fall asleep."

"Interesting… And who are you then?" he asked with a smirk.

"Let's say I'm a scientist. I come here, look at those experiments and realize that half of our population are douchebags." She answered.

"Okay, then who am I, doc?" the men asked. She looked thoughtful for a minute.

"Let's see: you're not with the whores, you're here alone and you're not drunk. That will probably be the fourth type: faith-n-humanity"

He just laughed.

"Well, cheers to that!" he said drinking his vodka shot.

"It was nice meeting you, but I think I'll go." – Chloe said, making her way out.

"Wait, you didn't pay for the drink" the man said. She looked at the bartender that was making out with a girl.

"I don't think he really cares." – she replied. "Ciao!"

"Wait, I still didn't got your name!" the man yelled across the bar. She just smiled and went out. She got in the car and noticed a police car standing outside, probably thinking she'll kill somebody. When they saw her, they pretended to be in a serious discussion. She just rolled her eyes and went home.

The next morning she woke up, hearing the banging on her door. She slowly walked and opened the door revealing an angry uncle holding another check.

"Seriously?" – he asked in a frustrated tone. "Why you can't even pay for a god dammit drink!"

"Hey, the bartender was kind of busy" She went to the kitchen and poured herself some coffee. "And how did you find out anyway?"

"The cameras caught you." He replied.

"Oh." That's all she said, taking a sip from her cup and opening her e-mail.

"Chloe, we need to talk. Look at what you've become. What do you think your father would say?"

"Hmm, I don't really know. Probably he would be proud that followed his footsteps. Well, except the fact that I don't kill people. Even I'm not_ that_ heartless." And that's when her uncle loses it.

"Chloe Marissa Salling, I'm so fucking tired of your shitty attitude!" he snapped going to the door. "Either you get a freaking life, or you can get the hell out of mine!"

When he left the door, Chloe sighed. Even if she was tuff, she had a tiny sensible part that hurt when she was fighting with her uncle. Especially after all the good things he'd ever done to her. Especially that he was her only family and a good friend.

Her mother died when she was six. That's why she shared everything with her father, until he got killed. After that her uncle took care of her. He did a good job, she was even happy until she found out the truth about her father. But a major part in her personality played the fact that she never actually had friends. She was always the loner, the weird chick and the creepy-girl. Also, until sixteen they were moving from town to town, just for safety. The most sad part was that she never fell in love, or never had a crush, or never been kissed. But she didn't mind 'cause her life was already planned out. On her twenty-first birthday she'll move away, find the man that killed her father, kill him and then just live quiet in some African forsaken village.

She went outside to check her mail. She never got letter, mostly bills. When she stepped outside, her neighbors were looking at her. Even if nobody ever dared to look in her eyes, she was annoyed. She took the letters and went back inside. She threw the letters one-by-one revealing one blank envelope. There was no name, address or anything at all. Her heart started beating fast against her chest. She quickly opened and saw the letter she's been waiting for ten years. She raced up to her room and opened the box and the envelope her dad gave her. She ripped it off and read the letter.

With red letters there were written three words: "CALL THIS NUMBER" she took her iPhone and dialed the number. After three seconds that seemed like three hours somebody on the other side picked up.

"I got the letter" she quickly said. After a moment or so, a voice with a British accent said.

"_Good_."

* * *

><p><strong>Here's the first chapter of the story! I hope you enjoyed it! Have a nice morningday/night!**


	3. Chapter 2

"_Good_."

After that the man on the other line hung up. "That's it?" she thought. She tried to call the number again but nobody picked up. She let out a frustrated sigh. She was kind of disappointed. She obviously expected that something big would happen. But as always, her hopes were crushed down. She wondered if she needed to let her uncle know about the letter. She just pushed all thoughts away and went inside her room.

Her house was small, one bedroom, one study, a bathroom and a living room with a kitchen. Her room had a big bed in the corner, a wardrobe and a table with some shelves on the opposite. She also had a big board with different newspaper articles, some of her pay-checks and some pages ripped from books hanging on it. Some of the newspaper articles were about her father she found in the old library. A big part of those articles from the local newspaper were about her, about her crimes and about crimes that she didn't commit, but people still thought she did them.

She walked over to the board and ripped of the first piece of paper that she ever hung on the board.

_"A dead man's body found in the Emperio Inc. building"_

_"This morning, the building's staff found a dead body in one of the top rooms. The body that belonged to Billiam Salling, an ex-spetsnaz, was shot in the stomach. The medics said that he died because of the blood loss. There were no witnesses and there is an unknown reason why somebody needed to kill the man. An anonymous source told us that the man wasn't so innocent and he had something to pay for. It is currently unknown who did it, but the police is working on that. In other news…"_

The words _"anonymous source_" were highlighted and a big _"?"_ crossed the article. She hung the article back and took another one from the board. This one was about her that she got from a cheap newspaper.

_"The young Chloe M. Salling finally deserved her destiny? The sixteen years old girl was sentenced for two years in Juvenile Hall. Even her uncle's money didn't save her this time. Is she going to follow her father's footsteps? Let's just hope that the teenager's destiny will be brighter than Billiam's."_

She just scoffed and hung the piece of paper back. She was labeled since her birth. But "bad" was running in her blood. Of course after her father's death her uncle paid for consultations, but they didn't really help. She was reading the papers one-by-one until her memory line was interrupted by a loud knocking on the door. She knew that her uncle was at work and she never got visited by anyone. The knocking became louder. She quickly kneeled down and took the stolen pistol from underneath the bed. She walked over the door and opened, the gun hidden in her back pocket.

Two men were standing in her doorway. The older one was wearing a hat, a shirt and black pants. He was tall and had a beard. Even if he looked normal, she could say that he wasn't from this town. The other man was looking bored, just like he didn't want to be here, and had a strange appearance. He had a mohawk and a scar trailing down on his right eye. He was wearing jeans and a white t-shirt. When she opened the door, their looks finally became interested.

"How can I help you?" Chloe asked trying not to show her frustration in her voice.

"Chloe Salling?" the older man asked in a British accent. The same voice she heard on the telephone. She nodded and she could feel the other man looking intense at her. "Can we come in, because that's not a talk that we can discuss in the doorway."

She stepped aside and the guests walked in. She closed the door and turned back to them.

"We came here because you received the letter." The other man said in a Scottish accent. She raised an eyebrow.

"And you are…" – she asked in a confused tone.

"John Price" said the older man, and then he pointed to the other one. "This is John MacTavish. We're from the Task Force 141"

Her eyes widened in surprise. She heard about the Task Force once from some guy in the Juvenile Hall. Something that they were really cool and that he wanted to join them.

"Okay… "she said unsure. She tried to recompose herself. "So, I received the letter. What does it mean?"

"That Makarov found you" replied MacTavish.

"Makarov, as if, Vladimir Makarov?" Chloe asked.

"The one and only" said MacTavish.

Vladimir Makarov. Everyone knew about his attack in the Russian airport. But no one knew where he is now, because after this he went off the grid.

"How? And most of all, why me?"

"I can't answer your first question because we're still trying to figure it out." said Price. "And because you're Billiam Salling's daughter."

A million questions were running in her head right now, but first she had to know the whole story.

"What now?"

"You're going with us, to our base." Replied Price.

"Great. Just great" she muttered under her breath. "But what about my uncle?"

"He's leaving the town. He's moving in a small town in Moldavia, Europe." Replied Price. "Our ride is going to be here soon, so you need to pack your things"

She just nodded and went straight in her room, leaving the men standing awkwardly in the living room. Price made his way to the couch, and sat with a sigh. MacTavish preferred standing.

"Why are we doing this again?" he asked annoyed. Price just sighed again.

"I told you a million timed, Soap, because I owe her father"

"So, why you can't send her off with her uncle?" asked MacTavish childishly. Price just chuckled lightly.

"You act like you're five. And Shepard actually made you field captain… If I wouldn't root those five years in gulag, I never would've made you captain. Huh, I guess I still see the young clumsy sergeant that almost fell from the chopper on our first mission"

Soap just rolled his eyes. "You still didn't answer my question."

Price looked at the closed door of the girl's bedroom and then back at MacTavish.

"Because she's my granddaughter" Price replied.

Inside the bedroom they heard a loud bang just like something fell on the floor. Soap was first to react and ran into the bedroom, Price behind him. Chloe stood near the door with an astonished look. Her fallen box was open and all the stuff from there was lying on the floor.

"You knew my father?" – she asked. Price nodded.

"We knew each other since college. We were kind of best friends. Then I joined SAS and he went his way. When you were born, he asked me to be your godfather. When he knew he will get killed, he found me and told me about his plan. I couldn't say no. And now you called me and I came. I wondered if you'll remember me or not."

A loud car beeping was heard from the outside.

"I guess that's our cue, we need to go" MacTavish said, making his way out, Price and Chloe right behind him. When they got outside, the people were looking at the girl being exported by two men. Chloe sat in the front seat next to the driver and Price and MacTavish took the back seats.

"Nikolai, thanks for coming." Said Price.

"Не за что" replied Nikolai with his Russian accent.

The ride was silent and long. She had no idea where they were going, so she turned her iPod on and put her playlist on shuffle. Home by Diana Ross started playing.

_When I think of home_  
><em>I think of a place where there's love overflowing<em>  
><em>I wish I was home<em>  
><em>I wish I was back there with the things I been knowing<em>

_Wind that makes the tall trees bend into leaning_  
><em>Suddenly the snowflakes that fall have a meaning<em>  
><em>Sprinklin' the scene, makes it all clean<em>

_Maybe there's a chance for me to go back_  
><em>Now that I have some direction<em>  
><em>It would sure be nice to be back home<em>  
><em>Where there's love and affection<em>  
><em>And just maybe I can convince time to slow up<em>  
><em>Giving me enough time in my life to grow up<em>  
><em>Time be my friend, let me start again<em>

She didn't even realize that she fell asleep.

After two hours she woke up because she felt the engine stop. She opened her eyes and saw that they were in the countryside, and that in the field there was a black chopper waiting for us. We got out and started walking toward it. Price and Nikolai were having a discussion about Nikolai's new helicopter. MacTavish was just trailing behind, hands in pockets looking around. For a moment his ice-blue eyes met her emerald-green. The moment was interrupted by Price waving to them. They hurried their pace and took seats in the heli. Nikolai and Price were admiring it in the front seats and me and the Scottish accent boy sat in the back. And again, the ride was boring and uneventful. After eight hours of flight we finally arrived to our destination.

"Um, where exactly are we?" Chloe asked Nikolai.

"In Afghanistan, my friend."

Nikolai showed her around the base, the training grounds, and the training course. Then he showed her the room she'll be staying. It was small, but she didn't ask for much. She unpacked her stuff, when she heard a knock on her door. In the doorway stood MacTavish.

"What now?"

"Good evening to you too" –he replied in a sarcastic voice.

"Are all the Scottish people that sarcastic and annoying?" – She asked.

"No, I took special lessons." – he said. She just rolled her eyes.

"Seriously, what the hell you want?"

"Just came to inform you that you need to complete these" he handed her some paper work "here's your timetable and tomorrow you're starting your training. Also, after you complete the papers, you'll receive your dog tags." She nodded at everything he said, not really listening and examining her timetable. "Since tomorrow it'll be your first day, you'll be accompanied by me"

"Hooray." She said in a sarcastic voice. "Is that all?" He just nodded and walked out the door. "Good night to you too" she screamed loud enough so he can hear. He just shook his head and chuckled.

**AN: I'm sorry for the long wait. I hope that there are still people reading my story. Aaand, Chloe finally made it to the TF141. I hope you enjoyed the story, and don't forget to review ;)**


	4. Chapter 3

**Here's the fourth chapter of the story. I know you don't like long AN, but I gotta say this.**

**First of all, a big thank you to Chris7221, you really helped me to look at my story with different eyes. I hope I'll make it better, and I'll save Chloe from turning into a Mary Sue. I rewrote this chapter so my writing would be clearer, and this chapter will show that Chloe is not perfect like a Mary Sue is supposed to be. And I'm sorry for my sloppy writing 'cause English is not my native language.**

**And also I made a mistake that SMakarov helped me find: Price is Chloe's godfather. I actually didn't even notice it, next time I'm not going to write anything while my crazy little cousin is running around the house.**

**Chapter 3**

She woke up hearing a knock on the door. She realized that she fell asleep on the table, doing the paper-work. She slowly stood up and walked to the door. When she opened it she saw MacTavish standing there. He was already wearing his training uniform.

"You look like a mess" he stated. It was true: she was still wearing her yesterday's clothes and her hair looked like a bushy nest.

"Thanks, you really know how to make a girl feel special" she replied. "What do you want?"

"Breakfast starts in half an hour" he said. Her eyes widened and she looked at clock that was hanging on the wall: 6.30

"Shit." She swore under her breath. MacTavish stood there and smirked.

"I'll wait for ya outside" he said, closing the door behind him. She changed in her training uniform, a pair of camouflage shorts, a white tank-top and a black pair of Converse, and ran outside. There she saw MacTavish chatting with Nikolai. She made her way to them.

"Yeah, I'll be right there" John said. Then he turned to the girl. "Price needs to see me. Nikolai will show you the way, I'll come straight to the o'course."

"Whatever" she replied and started following Nikolai. After ten minutes of walking with Nikolai's failed attempts to make small talk, they made it to the dining-hall. There were lots of soldiers, most of them speaking Russian. Some of them started a conversation with Nikolai. She took a tray with food and walked to the furthest table. She started poking the white goo with her fork, trying to understand what kind of food was that. Later she was joined by Nikolai and another man.

"Chloe, this is Yuri, your teammate." Said Nikolai, pointing at the man sitting beside him.

"It will be a pleasure working with you, especially when your father was Billiam Salling." As she heard her father's name, her eyes darkened.

"Same" she replied emotionless. Her eyes drifted off to scan the room. There were men chatting excitedly, other ones were whispering about something, some of them were laughing, and a hell lot of people were looking at her. Her gaze stopped at a guy sitting alone in a corner. His face felt familiar, but she couldn't place him.

"Hey, Nikolai, who's that?" she asked interrupting his talk with Yuri. He looked at the man and replied.

"His name's Snake. No one knows his real name." he said pointing at his tattoo. Her eyes widened in realization. A smirk appeared on her face.

_*flashback*_

_May 2012. Chloe's second day at the Juvenile Hall_

_She could feel her ribs being broken by the constant kicking. She was lying on the floor, blood streaming out of her nose and busted lip. Then she felt like someone picked her up and threw her against the wall. She screamed from the pain she felt in the back of her head. She heard some laughs and whistles._

_"Stop!" screamed a male voice coming from the door. "Idiots! What have you done?" he asked annoyed and picked up Chloe's fragile body from the ground._

_Several hours later she woke up in the infirmary room. She looked around the room and saw a guy sitting in a chair. His head shot up when he saw that she became conscious._

_"How are you?" he gently asked. She struggled getting up in a sitting position because of the huge bandage covering her stomach._

_"Could've been better" she replied. "Who are you?"_

_"Everyone knows me like Snake. See?" he asked pointing his finger at his tattoo on his wrist._

_"Well, I'm not everyone, so why don't you tell me your real name?" asked Chloe. He just chuckled._

_"Mike. Mike Hudson" he replied._

_*end of flashback*_

"Excuse me for a moment" Chloe said, before standing up and going towards 'Snake'. He didn't even notice her as she approached his table.

"Snake, huh?" she asked in a mocking voice. He quickly looked up, eyes shining.

"Chloe?" he asked in disbelief. She grinned. He stood up and hugged her.

"So you've made it to the Task Force?" she asked with a smile. Mike was her army-stuff obsessed friend. He was the one that told her about how awesome the task force was. He would always day-dream about the day when he'll finally fight alongside the best soldiers from the world.

"Indeed." He replied. "Never thought that I'll see you here too. Decided to follow my footsteps?" he asked with a smirk. She just rolled her eyes.

"Ha-ha, really funny." She replied sarcastically. She looked around the room and notice that there were less people there. "I need to go, I got the obstacle course first."

"Sucks to be you, I have my first period free" he said. She stood up, waved goodbye and walked over to Nikolai. He was still talking to Yuri, and didn't even notice that they needed to go. She sighed and made her way out. She didn't know where to go, that's why she decided to go where everyone else is going. In the crowd of people she noticed a mohawk.

**20 minutes earlier.**

Soap left the girl with Nikolai and walked toward Price's work-room. He made his way through the troop of people and entered the small building. He nodded at the guy that guarded the entrance and turned right around the corner. He walked to the wooden door and knocked once. He heard a muffled "come in" from the other side and opened the door.

Price was sitting at his desk, cleaning the pistol that saved Soap's life many years ago.

"You wanted to see me?" asked Soap, taking a seat opposite Price. The old man just nodded not really bothering to look at Soap. He just continued to polish the gun. MacTavish was impatiently waiting, awkwardly looking around the room. After five minutes, Price spoke:

"I need somebody to train Chloe." Then he finally looked at Soap. "And I want that somebody to be you"

Soap just looked at his mentor with an expression that clearly said: are you kiddin' me?

"No way." He replied. "I'm not gonna train the girl."

"And why not?" Price asked casually, examining the scratch on the pistol.

"Because she's just a kid. She knows nothing about the shitty world she just stepped in." He replied angrily. The truth was he didn't know exactly why he was angry: because of the news or because he still didn't ate breakfast.

"That's why I want you to teach her." Price said.

"Even if I'll teach her, I don't think she'll survive on the battlefield more than ten seconds."

"She has more potential than you think"

"Of bloody course she has" Soap muttered angrily. Price was tapping his fingers on the desk angrily. MacTavish knew that Price didn't lose his temper often, but when he did, it was really bad.

"Makarov's on the move. We don't know when he'll get back on the grid, but when he does, I want my team to be ready. That's why you're going to train Chloe until she reaches the necessary level of battle skills." Before Soap could say anything Price shouted "That's a fucking command, soldier!"

MacTavish sighed angrily and walked away, making sure he slammed the door behind. When he was in the hallway, he punched the wall angrily, swearing some Scottish swears. Some FNG's walked past him in a hurry, afraid to even breathe near the enraged man. He looked at the clock and realized that he was late for the breakfast and he had five minutes till the o'course.

"Fuck!" he swore and walked out of the building .

He made his way to the training ground, pushing people aside. He knew it was wrong to take the anger on them, but he was too hungry to think about it.

"Hey there." He heard Chloe's voice from behind. She was walking on the edge of the sidewalk, balancing herself like an equilibrist. _'She is a kid'_ MacTavish thought.

The obstacle course went fine, uneventful. She made it fourth, not too bad, but could've been better. As Mac quoted: "She's going to be a badass someday."

She had the second period free, so she watched some soldiers doing the cross fit. She was tired only watching them, she couldn't imagine how she'll survive it tomorrow.

Next she had the shooting range. She was handy with a gun and a knife, but she was a total mess with the rifles. She wasn't used to the heavy weapons, she was more comfortable with a Desert eagle or with an USP. That's why she wasn't on her best behavior. Serghei, the instructor said that she was hopeless.

After her failed attempts to shoot the targets at the shooting range, it was time for the hand-to-hand combat. She wasn't really paying attention on what Soap was saying since her life at Juvie taught her a thing or two about the hand-to-hand combat. Then everybody paired up for practice. The last person available was MacTavish.

"Guess we're together, huh?" she asked.

"I don't think so." He said, probably still angry because of the _'awesome'_ news, that Chloe still had no idea of.

"So, you bail out, just because I'm a girl?" she asked. The people stopped for a moment to look at the FNG that was fighting with the captain. Before Chloe could even react, she was tackled down on the ground, just like on her second day in Juvie. She could feel blood streaming from her forehead.

"Rule number one soldiers" shouted Soap enough to everyone to hear. "Never underestimate your opponent." He said letting Chloe go. He didn't knew what got him. The girl just got the best of him. When she stood up, he could see the clear scratch on her forehead, which was decorated with blood. She just gave him a disbelieving look and walked away to her room.

'_Oh, it's so on, Scottish Boy. It's so on.'_


	5. Chapter 4

**I'm really sorry for the late update, my headache is killing me. I know there are some details that you think are useless, pointless, confusing, but trust me, they're important. It will all make sense in later chapters. I hope you'll like this chapter, and please tell me if i made any mistakes. Don't forget to review ;)**

She walked out from the infirmary with two stiches on her forehead. _'Great, now I look like Harry-freaking-Potter'_ she thought as she walked upstairs to her room. It was only five o'clock, that's why she decided to finish the paperwork that was lying on the table. She started scribbling angrily on the sheets, trying not to mess everything up. The worst part of being here was that her uncle's money didn't save her. That's when she realized that now all of her decisions and movements should be cautious, she was in the real world now. Then she heard a knock on the door. She stood up and went to open it. _'I swear if it's MacTavish…'_

"Price?" She said more like a question. He probably heard about the incident.

"Can I come in?" he asked in his usual voice. It didn't sound angry and she took that for a good sign. She stepped aside and let her godfather come in. "How's your forehead?" he asked concerned. He reminded her of her uncle right now.

"It's fine" she said trying not to make eye contact. He sighed and looked around the room.

"Probably reminds you of Juvenile Hall, huh?" he asked. Once he asked it, Price could see that her face darkened and the glint in her eyes disappeared.

"No" she quickly lied, but both of them knew the right answer.

It was true that this was like Juvie all over again. She got beaten on her second day, the food was disgusting and if you weren't strong enough, you couldn't get any respect here. The only good thing was that she had Snake back.

_*Flashback*_

"_So, how long have you been here?" asked Chloe._

"_Three years and six months. Still got six months to spend here." Mike replied. She raised an eyebrow._

"_You've been here since you were fourteen?" She asked shocked. He just nodded. "What did you do to get here?"_

_He just kept looking straight forward. "Let's just say that I played with fire" he said. _

_Chloe never asked him anymore questions about his crime, but she didn't push it. He noticed her looking down at her feet with a frown on her face. "Hey." He said lightly punching her arm. "At least while I'm here I'm going to teach you to be top dog here" he said with a smile. She smiled back and she realized that he was her first real friend. _

_*End of flashback*_

The next few months she learned how to act around people in there, how to earn respect and how to deal with the food. The worst part was when he turned eighteen and he was free to go. She became the bitchy person again but still kept the position of top dog.

"Chloe, did you heard a single word I said?" asked Price. She snapped back in reality and shook her head. Price sighed. "I said that you're going to take lesson with Soap."

The anger started boiling inside of her.

"What?" she asked annoyed. "I'm not going to take lessons with the Mohawk-guy."

"And why not?" Price asked.

"Because he's an ass. I bet he'll ramble on and on about how I'm not good enough to be in the task force." She replied angrily. The truth was she didn't know exactly why she was angry: because of the news or because of the truth of her last sentence.

"That's why I want him to teach you." Price said.

"Even if he teaches me, I don't think that one of us will be alive after the lesson."

"He is better than you think."

"Of bloody course he is." Chloe muttered angrily.

Price remembered his earlier talk with Soap and smiled in his head. _'This is going to be great'_ he thought. "The lesson starts at eight o'clock, don't be late." He said walking out of the door.

She still got one hour till her practice, that's why she went out to look for Snake. She found him sitting under a big tree, doodling in his field journal. When he looked at her, his face turned into a grin.

"What's up, Potter?" he asked, trying to hide the laughter in his voice.

"Prick," she mumbled, taking a seat beside him.

"Hey, I was just joking" he said, raising his hands in defense. She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms on her chest. He gave her a sympathetic look. "How are you?"

She just shrugged. Then she told him about the incident that happened between her and Soap, about the talk with Price and about the lessons she's going to have with MacTavish. After her speech they both fell silent.

"He's not that bad, you know." Mike said after a pause.

"Well, he's not that amazing" Chloe replied.

"You never actually gave him a chance." He said with a straight face. She frowned.

"I did, but then he knocked me on the ground without any reason" she argued. Then she decided to change the topic. "Whatcha drawing?"

"Eh, just stuff" he said, handing her the journal. She started looking at the dirty pages with interest. There were some drawings of buildings, guns and people. Most of those people were marked with a red X or RIP was written beneath them. In the beginning there was an article from a newspaper about her father, alongside a drawing of her. In the picture Chloe looked younger, probably sixteen, and she looked… happy. She traced the finger down the thin page, wondering when he did it. She looked at Mike and suddenly felt relieved that he fell asleep. There was a poem written in a messy handwriting, some words slightly faded.

_So now I've taken leave of life,__  
><em>_I thought you'd like to know, I still__  
><em>_Possess a mind in love, oh life;__  
><em>_A soulful eye to catch a show of__  
><em>_Silent beauty – ever yours;__  
><em>_An ear to pick the metaphors__  
><em>_Of tonal dance in words you say,__  
><em>_Grasp a thought in verse you pray__  
><em>_Inside your head, bemused of mind,__  
><em>_Softly mournful, intertwined with__  
><em>_Understanding tears._

A million thoughts were racing in her head right now. She was reading the lines all over again and couldn't understand anything. Then she finally remembered that she needed to go. She made a mental note to ask Mike about this later, but now she had to go. She placed the journal beside Snake and walked away, to the shooting range.

When she walked into the shooting room, Soap was chatting with Yuri and some other guys.

"I need to ask you guys something." MacTavish said in a serious voice.

"Yes, you should move to Israel." Chloe replied, before any other guy could react. Some of the men chuckled, while Soap didn't look happy

"Wow, you actually showed up." He replied, faking an impressed voice.

"Wouldn't miss it in the world" she replied in a disgustingly sweet voice. Some Russians exchanged glances. She just rolled her eyes. "I hope you realize that was sarcasm"

"You should drop the attitude" he replied in a serious voice. She just rolled her eyes, again.

"Look, I don't mean to be a bitch… well, actually I do. But we both know that neither of us will enjoy these supposed-to-be lessons. Why even bother?" she asked, taking a Desert Eagle from the table. She tried to focus on the targets, but with Soap's constant staring, she couldn't even think straight. She turned to him.

"What now?" she asked annoyed. He just shrugged.

"Nothing." He replied. "Just watching you makes me feel like a master at shooting."

She clutched the gun tightly in her hand, trying not to shot the Scottish bastard. She decided to ignore his little comment and kept shooting, his gaze never leaving her. The Russians in the room were quietly discussing the pair, in Russian.

"Они ненавидят друг друга." (They hate each other) said Aleksei in a whisper to the group.

"Да ну?" (You don't say?) replied sarcastically Maksim.

"Даже не знаю почему ты так решил." (I don't even know why you think so) said Kirill.

"Может из за постоянного спора?" (Maybe because of the constant bickering?) asked Maksim.

"Или из за постоянных сор?" (Or because of the constant fighting?) asked Kirill. The men just laughed, trying to ignore the deadly fire in the conversation between Soap and Chloe. Yuri just shook her head, focusing on the newspaper he had on his lap. He was trying to read a page, but couldn't help but look at the annoyed captain and the frustrated girl.

"Надеюсь они найдут общий язык, пока Макаров ещё не появился." (I hope they will come to terms, until Makarov comes back on the grid) he said, making the other men shut up. With the mention of Makarov's name they tensed and became quieter.

"Uh, I hate him!" exclaimed Chloe, after three weeks of their lessons. Mike just shook his head and kept polishing his gun. "He thinks he's so smart, just because he knows how to handle a gun." She spat with anger. She tucked back a strand of hair behind her ear, and kept pacing around the room. "And he just keeps talking about my criminal record! God, I'm so tired of people judging me for a few mistakes I've made. I've tried to be a good girl, I go to those lessons and I say "be cool Chloe, be nice" but by second minute, I'm fighting with that jackass and I don't know how I got there."

"You're overreacting" Snake replied in a calm tone, looking at the girl with interest.

"No, I'm not! I swear the guy is driving me nuts" she said, taking a seat in a chair beside the table. Mike just sighed.

"Look, want me to come to your next lesson?" he asked. She pursued her lips, her face thoughtful. Then she smiled and nodded.

The lesson went disturbingly calm. They didn't exchange many insults, maybe just occasional sarcastic comments, and they were civil. Mike's presence was a good influence.

But all good things don't last long.

"You are doing it wrong"

Those five words made everything change. The insults, the sarcasm, the swears filled the room. Mike couldn't take it anymore.

"EVERYBODY SHUT THE FUCK UP!" he screamed. Chloe and MacTavish fell silent. Even some new guys that were chatting quietly in the corner grew silent and made their way out. Snake rubbed his temples and enjoyed the silence while it lasted. He had to make something, but now after losing his temper, he had no other choice but to be completely honest.

"Chloe, you're horrible at shooting" he said. Chloe's face didn't show much emotion, but her emerald eyes sparkled like betrayal. "Why can't you take some advice from a guy that actually knows how to act with a gun?"

She didn't say anything, but Soap's face read victory. He chucked, covering it with a cough. Then Snake turned to Soap.

"Soap-you suck. You're like a total drag. Has anyone ever told you that?" he asked annoyed.

"I did." Chloe whispered. Mike just rolled his eyes.

"You both need to change your behavior" he instructed. He felt like a dad dealing with little kids.

"What do you want me to do?" asked Soap in his accent. "Apologize? That's not me, mate."

"You'll both apologize, even if you don't want to. I need team-mates that can actually trust and cover each other."

"Fine, I'll apologize, but will you please shut up?" Chloe said. Mike nodded. She took a deep breath and looked at John. "Snake's right, I haven't been fair to you. You're not stupid. I should know, I kind of liked you at the beginning. I mean, at some point I must have liked that your hair looked like a squirrel tail that had one too many haircuts."

"Whoa." Mike breathed out. The room became more crowded, since the soldiers came to see the show. Yuri and Nikolai were standing in front with a bunch of twenty people behind them. But that didn't stop Chloe.

"Please stick a sock in it or go back to doodling in your journal, I'm trying to apologize to Lumps the Clown. I am sorry, John. I mean, really, I'm sorry that you can't handle a knife. And also sorry that your strategies never work. Sorry that your hand-to-hand combat skills suck and you shoot like you've been asleep for years and someone just woke you up." She finished. Then she turned back to Mike. "You know, I really feel better now." She said, walking out of a shooting area. The men just stood there in a complete silence. After a few seconds, Soap broke it.

"Am I the only one that hates her?" he asked. Everyone, even Nikolai, Mike and Yuri raised their hands. Soap looked around and sighed. "I thought so…"


	6. Chapter 5

**I'm sorry for the long delay! I just needed some ideas, and now i can tell that the next few chapters will be faster! Oh, and a HUGE_ thank you _to SergeantJohnston for letting me use her awesome character Melody! I hope you like it and don't forget to review!**

**3 months later…**

"Soap - how are things going with Mouse?" asked Aleksei, while them, alongside Yuri and Chloe were going to the meeting.

"With Mells? Everything's fine. She came back a little while ago from a hike with some of our people. An expedition. As you probably know" Aleksei just shook his head.

"I myself might know a thing or two, but I'll listen with pleasure, even for a second time. What – do you mind?" insisted Aleksei. He didn't have to spend any time persuading him: MacTavish himself enjoyed recalling and retelling his best friend's stories – after all, everyone would listen to him, their mouths open. He looked at the clock and saw that they still had fifteen minutes.

"Well, you probably know where they went…" began Soap.

"I know they went south. They're so top-secret, those _"hikers"_ of yours" laughed Aleksei.

"They are special missions of the administration, you know!" exclaimed Yuri.

"Come on, there wasn't anything secret about it" MacTavish waved his hand dismissively. "The expedition was only for reconnaissance, the collection of information… _Reliable_ information."

"About what?" asked Chloe, suddenly looking interested in the conversation.

"Kamarov's base." Sighed heavily MacTavish as the little group fell silent.

"And…?" persuaded him Aleksei.

"Nothing. Not a single clue. They searched through the ruins of the building, the woods… clear. Just like they just vanished into thin air."

"Kamarov's one lucky bastard." Yuri muttered under his breath after a few minutes of silence. The others just nodded thoughtfully.

"I bet all my Pokémon cards it was Makarov!" Aleksei said angrily.

"That's why you think Price is calling this meeting?" asked Yuri.

"I think so. It was pretty out of the blue, ya know…"

They finally arrived to the meeting room. The room was half full and Price was nowhere to be seen. After a few minutes Price entered the room and everybody quieted down. He sat at the desk, closed his eyes and started rubbing his temples. Then he opened his eyes and started the big screen.

**_"The Russian President never arrived in Hamburg for the peace summit. With his whereabouts currently unknown, no one is certain what this means for the peace treaty…"_**

He turned the screen off and stared at the soldiers. Their expressions read the same: surprise and anger.

"I think everyone knows what happened to the loyalist's base…" Price began. Then he started walking back and forth, taking deep breaths. "Our _"hikers"_ didn't find anything. That's all I know. That's why one of the members of the research group is here."

The door flew open and a figure came in. Everyone's attention was at the woman.

"Glad you came, Melody." Price said, shaking the woman's hand.

"It's my job" she replied jokingly. Then she turned around and faced the crowd. "For those who don't know me: Melody Johnston, Sergeant. I'm here to show you the results of our little expedition."

She took out from inside her jacket pocket a disk and popped it into the DVD player. The big screen came to life and the pictures were showing.

"This, my dear friends, is what is left from Kamarov's old base."

After the meeting, Price asked Soap and Chloe to stay behind. As the room cleared out, only four people in the room were left.

"Soap, Chloe, I hope you realize what this means?" asked Price with all the seriousness in the world.

"War." They both replied at the same time. Melody watched in amusement how those two were acting around each other.

"Exactly, that why I need you to cooperate, as teammates." He explained.

"We'll behave." Said Chloe exchanging a look with Soap that said_ "just agree!"_.

"Yeah…" Soap said kind of insecure.

"Good. Now you shall leave."

As fast as they left the room, Melody started laughing like a teenager. Price just chuckled.

"How long do you think it will take 'em?" Melody just looked at the calendar.

"I give them three months. Maybe less. Since Makarov's back on the grid, I don't think they'll hate each other much more." Price just shook his head.

"I hope you're right…"

Chloe was shooting down the targets at the shooting range. At least those three months training weren't worthless. As the targets went down one by one she didn't even notice a figure coming inside. When her pistol was empty, she threw it at one of the further targets.

"Someone's clearly really mad" someone said from behind her. She spun around and saw Melody.

"I just have this feeling that I need to throw something at somebody." Melody nodded in agreement.

"I know the feeling…but it's going to disappear once you're used to it"

Chloe sat down on the floor, tilted her head back and closed her eyes.

"I know what Makarov did to your family" Melody spoke quietly "He almost destroyed mine too."

Melody noticed that this had no effect on Chloe, she decided to go the other way.

"You know that I have the key to Price's office" she said. At this Chloe opened her eyes and straightened her head.

"I always wanted to look through Price's stuff" Chloe said, a grin forming on her face. Melody smiled back.

"I think our wishes are alike."

They walked down the corridor and arrived at Price office's door. They made sure no one was around and opened the door. Chloe turned the light on, while Melody locked the door from inside. Then they started to wander through his desk and drawer.

"Look at this" Melody showed Chloe a timetable "He's going to make us patrol"

Chloe just shook her head and went to look through his drawers. In one of them she saw a wooden box, looking exactly the same as the box she left in Rosewood. She looked over at Melody, who was looking at someone's personal file. Chloe placed the box on the floor and opened it. The box was full of photos, papers and other things. She took a photo, on which in a messy handwriting was written _"Me and John"_ she looked at the photo and saw her dad and Price. She looked more and found and envelope. She opened it and saw an x ray picture. On the other side it was written in the same handwriting: _"Chloe Salling – 4 months"_

"Can you believe that Soap's full name is Jonathan? That's like, new teasing material" said Melody as she looked at girl on the floor. Melody could tell that Chloe shouldn't have looked in that box. Melody quickly arranged all files back in place and took the box from Chloe's hands and put it back in the drawer. "Come on, Chloe, I think we had enough for today."

Chloe nodded though her mind was completely elsewhere. Melody took a last look at the patrol timetable

"Um, Chloe, for your information… you need be at the patrol in ten minutes" Chloe snapped back in reality. Before she could say anything Melody stopped her. "Run, I'll lock everything up."

"Thanks Mel, you're a lifesaver!" shouted Chloe from the corridor.

**Kind of short, I promise, the next chapter is bigger. And because of the long wait, i'm giving you a little sneak peek:**

_**After five minutes of tense silence, Mike asked "So what actually happened at Kamarov's base?"**_

_**"At Kamarov's base?" repeated Nikolai amused. "What, you didn't hear about it?"**_

_**Mike and Kirill shook their heads. Although, Chloe already knew this blood-curdling story, she had an urge to hear it again, like a child who feels an irrepressible urge to hear scary stories about headless zombies and boogie man who kidnaps kids.**_

_**"It's a strange story" continued Nikolai. "Strange and frightening." **_


	7. Chapter 6

**As i promised a faster update and a bigger chapter. This is more like a filler chapter, you're going to find out what happened at the base. As you know, it's a frightening story, that's why i want you to review and tell me how it was. Enjoy!**

Chloe was patrolling the dark alleys, alongside Yuri. They were both silent, listening to any sounds that seemed suspicious. As always, the base was quiet at night, but they still needed to be careful.

"All clear" announced Yuri. They headed towards the campfire where the patrols usually were resting after their duty. Soap, Kirill, Mike and Nikolai were already there. As they saw the figures approaching, they turned their attention at Yuri.

"All good, nothing to worry about." He said bored, taking a seat between Mike and Kirill, while Chloe sat down between Soap and Nikolai. It was silent for some time, the only sound being the wind. From behind the trees they heard some muffled sounds.

"Who's there? Chloe – go have a look!" ordered Soap.

Chloe rose reluctantly from her seat by the fire and, shifting the machine gun from her back to her chest, headed towards the darkness. She stood right at the edge of the lighted area, and then, as loudly and threateningly as she could, she clicked the slide on her gun and shouted gruffly, "Who's there?"

She could hear quick footsteps in the darkness where moments ago she'd heard a strange rustle and hollow-sounding murmurings. Someone was retreating into the depths of the woods, frightened away by Chloe's voice and the rattling of her weapon. Chloe hurriedly returned to the fire and flung an answer at MacTavish:

"Nope, no one came forward. No response, they just ran off." Soap just sighed frustrated.

"You were clearly told. If they don't respond, shoot. That's the whole point of patrolling. How do you even know who that was? Maybe the Russians are getting closer!"

"No… I don't think they were people… The sounds were really strange… And the footsteps weren't human either." The elder men were staring at her skeptically "What? You think that I don't know what human footsteps sound like? And anyway, when have the Russians ever run off like that? You know it yourself, Scotland. But this thing, it ran off straight away… Like some kind of scared animal."

"All right, Chloe! You're too smart for your own good. But you've got instructions – so follow them, don't think about it. Next time, watch it! 'Cause I'll make ya run after them into the woods!"

After five minutes of tense silence, Mike asked "So what actually happened at Kamarov's base?"

"At Kamarov's base?" repeated Nikolai amused. "What, you didn't hear about it?"

Mike and Kirill shook their heads. Although, Chloe already knew this blood-curdling story, she had an urge to hear it again, like a child who feels an irrepressible urge to hear scary stories about headless zombies and boogie man who kidnaps kids.

"It's a strange story" continued Nikolai. "Strange and frightening. First, their patrols began disappearing. Went off to patrol the alleys, and didn't come back. Granted, their soldiers are completely green, nothing like ours, but then again, their base is smaller, a lot less soldiers live there… well, used to live there. So anyway, their patrols start disappearing. One detachment leaves – and vanishes. At first they thought something was holding them up – you know, big woods with twists and turns just like here…" Chloe felt ill at ease when she heard those words.

"And neither the patrols, nor those at the base could see anything, no matter how much light they threw at it. No one appeared – for half an hour, then for an hour, then two. They wondered where the soldiers could have gone – they were only going on kilometer in. They weren't allowed to go any further and anyway, they aren't total idiots… Long story short, they couldn't wait to find out. They sent reinforcements who searched and searched, and shouted and shouted – but it was all in vain. The patrol was gone, vanished. And it wasn't just that no one had seen what had happened to them. The worst part was that they hadn't heard a sound… _not a sound_. There was no trace of them, whatsoever."

Chloe could tell by Mike and Kirill's facial expressions that they were already beginning to regret that they had asked Nikolai to recount the story of Kamarov's base. Nikolai was either better informed, or was embellishing the story somewhat; but in any case, he was telling details Chloe never heard of. They sent chills over Chloe's skin, and she became uncomfortable even sitting next to the fire. Any rustlings from the woods, even the most innocent, were now exciting her imagination.

"So, there you have it. They hadn't heard any gunfire do they decided that the soldiers had simply left them – maybe they were dissatisfied with something, and had decided to run. So, to hell with them. If it's an easy life they want, if they want to run around with all kinds of riff-raff, then let them run around to their hearts' content. It was simpler to see it that way. Easier. But a week later, yet another patrol team disappeared. And they weren't supposed to go any further than half kilometer from the base. And again, the same old story. Not a sound, not a trace. Like they'd vanished into thin air. So then they started getting worried back at the base. Now they had a real mess on their hands – two squadrons had disappeared within a week. They'd have to do something about it. Meaning, they have to take measures. Well, they set up a cordon at the three-hundredth meter into the woods. They dragged sandbags to the cordon, set up machine guns and a spotlight – according to the rules of fortification. Anyway, they sent a runner to the U.S.M.C. base, to warn them that, as they said trouble was afoot, and to ask for help, should anything to happen. The first runner had only just made it to the base – and the men there were still considering their answer – when a second runner arrived at the U.S.M.C. base, leathered in sweat, and said that their reinforced cordon had perished to a man, without firing a single shot. Every last one of them was slaughtered. And it was as if they'd been butchered in their sleep –_ that's what was scary_! But they wouldn't have fallen asleep, not after the scare they'd had, not to mention the orders and the instructions. At this point, the soldiers from U.S.M.C. understood that if they did nothing, the same story would begin in their neck of the woods as well. They equipped a strike force of veterans, about a hundred man, machine guns, and grenade launchers. Of course, that all took a bit of time, about a day and a half, but all the same, they dispatched the group to go and help. And when the group entered Kamarov's base, there wasn't a living soul to be seen. There weren't even bodies – just blood everywhere. There you go. And who knows who the hell did it. I, for one, believe it was Makarov and his men. Only they are capable of such a thing."

"And Kamarov?" asked Mike.

"He was the runner at the U.S.M.C.. The last man alive"

"And what happened to the U.S.M.C.?" Kirill's voice sounded unusual, unlike him.

"Nothing happened to them. They saw what the deal was, and demolished the building."

Nikolai fell silent, gazing into the fire. Chloe gave a lough chough and said "Yeah… I should've shot the thing… I was an idiot"

A shout came from the south, from the direction of the base.

"Hey there, at the campfire! Everything OK there?"

Soap folded his hands into the shape of a megaphone and shouted in reply: "Come closer! We've got a situation here!"

Three figures approached from the base, their flashlights shining. Stepping into the light of the fire, they put out their flashlights and sat down.

"Hi there, Soap! So it's you here. And I'm thinking to myself – who'd they send off to the edge of the earth today?" said the senior patrolman, smiling and shaking a cigarette from his pack.

"Listen, Maksim! Chloe saw someone up here. But she didn't get to shoot… It hid in the woods. She says it didn't look human"

"Didn't look human? What did it look like, then?" Maksim turned to Chloe.

"I didn't even see it… I just asked who it was, and it ran right off, heading north. But the footsteps weren't human – they were light and very quick, as if it had four legs instead of two…"

"Or three!" winked Yuri, making a scary face.

Maksim took a drag from his cigarette and said to his man, "All right, guys, since we're already here why don't we sit down for a while? If any three-legged things crawl up on these guys, we'll land a hand. Hey, Chloe! Got a kettle?"

Kirill got up and poured some water from canister into a beat-up, soot-covered kettle, and hung it over the flame. In a few minutes, the kettle began to whistle as it came to a boil. The sound, so domestic and comforting, made Chloe feel warmer and calmer. She looked around at the men who were sitting at the fire: all of them strong dependable people, hardened by the challenging life they led here. You could trust men like these; you could count on them. But all of them, including her, had only one mission.

Survive. Survive at any cost.

Chloe accepted a white, enameled cup, in which the tea was splashing around.

"Listen, Chloe – how are things going with Hunter?" asked Maksim, drinking his tea with small, cautious sips and blowing on it carefully.

"With Uncle Fred? Everything's fine. He's living now in Moldavia, far away from this craziness" Maksim nodded thoughtfully.

Somewhere in the depths they heard a screech that sounded unlike anything… And everyone fell silent upon hearing it. From the depths of the woods, from the north, the suspicious sounds were rather distinct now: there were rustlings and light rhythmic steps.

Soap, of course, was the first to hear them. He went silent instantly and waved a hand to signal the others to be quiet too, and he picked up his machine gun from the ground and jumped up from where he was sitting.

Slowly undoing his safety catch and loading a cartridge, his back to the nearest tree, he silently moved from the fireside into the woods. Chloe got up too – she was curious to see who she had missed the last time but Maksim turned back and frowned at her angrily. He stopped at the border of the darkness, put his gun to his shoulder and lay down flat shouting, "Give me some light!"

Mike, holding a powerful accumulator flashlight, turned it on, and the bright beam ripped through the darkness. Snatched from darkness, a fuzzy silhouette appeared on the ground for a second. It was something small, something not really scary looking, something which rushed back to the north.

Nikolai couldn't restrain himself and he cried out:

"Shoot! It's getting away!"

But for some reason Maksim did not shoot. Soap got up too, keeping his machine gun at the ready and shouted:

"Maksim! You still alive?"

The guys sitting at the fire whispered in agitation, hearing the lock of Maksim's gun slide back. Finally Maksim appeared in the light of the flashlight, dusting off his jacket.

"Yes, I'm alive, I'm alive!" he said, laughing.

"Why are you snorting?" Soap asked him suspiciously.

"It had three feet! And two heads. Mutants! The Russians are here! They'll cut our throats! Shoot, or they'll get away! Must have been lots of them! Must have!" Maksim continued to laugh, like a madman.

"Why didn't you shoot? Fine, my girl might not have but she's young, didn't get it. But why did you mess it up? You're not new to this, after all. You know what happened at Kamarov's base?" asked Soap angrily when Maksim had returned the fire.

"Yes, I've heard about Kamarov's base a dozen times!" Maksim waved him away – "It was a dog! A puppy, not even a dog… It's already the second time it's tried to get close to the fire, towards the heat and light. And you almost took him out and now you're asking me why I'm being too considerate. Knackers!"

"How was I supposed to know it was a bloody dog?" Chloe had taken offence. "It gave out such sounds…"

"Wait a second and I'll bring you your evil monster!" Maksim said, throwing his machine gun over his shoulder and walking off into the darkness.

A minute later, they heard a fine whistle from the darkness. And then a voice called out, affectionately, coaxingly:

"Come here, come here little one, don't be afraid!"

He spent a long time convincing it, about ten minutes, calling it and whistling to it and then finally his figure appeared again in the twilight.

He returned to the fire and smiled triumphantly as he opened his jacket. A puppy fell out onto the ground, shivering, piteous, wet and intolerably dirty, with matted fur of an indistinct color, and black eyes full horror, and flattened ears.

Once on the ground, he immediately tried to get away but Maksim's firm hand grabbed it and held it in place. Petting it on its head, he removed his jacket and covered the little dog.

"The puppy needs to be warmed up" he explained.

"Come on, Maksim, it's a fleabag!" Soap tried to bring Maksim to his senses "And he might even have worms. And generally you might pick up an infection and spread it around the station…"

"Ok, Soap, that's enough, stop the whining. Just look at it!" And he pulled back the flaps of his jacket showing MacTavish the muzzle of the puppy that was still shivering either out of fear or cold. "Look at its eyes – those eyes could never lie!"

Soap looked at the puppy skeptically. They were frightened eyes but they were undoubtedly honest. MacTavish thawed a bit.

"All right…_ You nature-lover_… Wait, I'll find something for him to chew on" he muttered and started to look in his rucksack.

"Have a look, have a look. You never know, maybe something useful will grow from it – a German Shepard for example" Maksim said and moved the jacket containing the puppy closer to the fire.

"But where could a puppy come from to get here? There aren't any people in that direction." Kirill asked as he looked suspiciously at the puppy who had dozed off in the heat.

"You're right Kirill" said Nikolai, eyeing the dog. "So how'd the dog get here anyway?"

"Who the hell knows how it got here… Maybe it just ran away from his old owners. Doesn't matter anyway how it got here. Look at it yourself. Does it look like a monster? No, it's just a little puppy dog, nothing special. And it's drawn to people – that means it's used to us. Otherwise why would it have tried three times to get close to the fire?" replied Yuri.

Kirill went silent, thinking through the argument. Mike filled up the kettle with water from the canister, and asked "Anyone want more tea? Let's have a final cup, soon it'll be time for us to be relieved"

"Tea – now you're talking! Let's have some" Maksim said. The others became animated at the idea as well.

The kettle came to a boil. Mike poured another cup for those who wanted it. Soon enough, they heard a call.

"Your shift's over! Get ready, we're on our way!" they shouted from the base.

Chloe, alongside the men at the fire began to move about, throwing off their stupor, rising on their feet, stretching, putting on their backpacks and weapons and Maksim picked up the little puppy.

**And here's a little sneak peek for the next chapter:**

_**"Listen, Chloe, what was that about? What was he saying to you back here?"**_

_**"Nothing… We were just talking about Makarov, you know?"**_

_**"Yeah, it's like a trending topic here. Well, it was about time already, I was getting worried."**_

_**"Yeah, it's hard to focus on anything else while you know Makarov's somewhere out there doing hell knows what" said Chloe.**_

_**"Exactly." Frowned Mike.**_

_**In the distance, they could already hear the lively sounds from the base. At the entrance, they handed over their weapons to the other guards, and signed their names in the ledger. Mike patted Chloe's back before parting and said:**_

_**"It's about time we hit the bed! I can barely stand on my feet, and you're probably ready to sleep standing up yourself." Chloe said goodbye and feeling the sudden onset of fatigue, took herself off to her room.**_

_**The next morning she woke up at the loud banging on the door. She stood up and walked over the door. On the other side stood Melody.**_

_**"What do you want?" asked Chloe sleepily.**_

_**"World peace" Melody replied grinning. "But I'll start small. First of all, get ready 'cause Price is calling you."**_


	8. Chapter 7

When everyone was already headed towards the base, Nikolai began speaking heatedly with Yuri and Maksim about something, apparently returning to one of their eternal disputes, while Soap fell away from them, drawing even with Chloe, and beginning to walk in step with her.

"Who do you think is responsible for the clear-out at the Kamarov's?" he asked Chloe in a low, muffled voice, without looking her in the eye.

"Isn't it obvious? Makarov" answered Chloe honestly.

"First the base… now the President…" muttered Soap.

"When do you think we'll go on our first mission?" Chloe decided to ask, since they decided to act civil.

"Mission?" asked MacTavish surprised. "Why do you need to know?"

"Well, I want to find the bastard and kill him off"

"Those are big words for a girl."

"A girl? Do you think I can't kick ass like you _guys_ do?" Chloe asked.

"Kick ass? Hmm…" Soap smirked "If I remember correctly you failed your first lesson at hand combat"

"Shut up" muttered Chloe.

"Fine then. Nice talking to you. Never thought we could have an actual conversation." Giving Chloe a wink before parting, he walked down to talk to Price about the patrol.

There wasn't much further to go, from a distance you could already see the lights from the base. Mike, walking alongside Chloe, asked her worriedly:

"Listen, Chloe, what was that about? What was he saying to you back here?"

"Nothing… We were just talking about Makarov, you know?"

"Yeah, it's like a trending topic here. Well, it was about time already, I was getting worried."

"Yeah, it's hard to focus on anything else while you know Makarov's somewhere out there doing hell knows what" said Chloe.

"Exactly." Frowned Mike.

In the distance, they could already hear the lively sound from the base. At the entrance, they handed over their weapons to the other guards, and signed their names in the ledger. Mike patted Chloe's back before parting and said:

"It's about time we hit the bed! I can barely stand on my feet, and you're probably ready to sleep standing up yourself." Chloe said goodbye and feeling the sudden onset of fatigue, took herself off to her room.

The next morning she woke up at the loud banging on the door. She stood up and walked over the door. On the other side stood Melody.

"What do you want?" asked Chloe sleepily.

"World peace" Melody replied grinning. "But I'll start small. First of all, get ready 'cause Price is calling you."

"Me?" Chloe frowned.

"Alongside Yuri and MacTavish" explained Melody.

…

"Looks like Makarov just played his next hand." Said MacTavish gruffly.

"If he puts himself back on the grid, he wants it to be known…" sighed Price.

"So where do we start hunting?" inquired Soap.

"Africa. Makarov's been using a local paramilitary group to move shipments into Sierra Leone. From there, they go towards Morocco, and into Spain." Yuri marked the countries on the map.

"He's moving north…" Chloe muttered.

"Right towards the majesty's doorstep. What's the cargo?" asked Price.

"I don't know…" admitted Yuri "…but it's important to him."

"Then I want it." Said Price.

"We can use the river to get in close. There's a factory in the camp where they store the shipments…" Soap said, examining the map. "The PRF's been waging genocide in the highland for months. They'll be everywhere."

"Makarov wouldn't let this travel lightly if it didn't serve a greater purpose…and chances are the bastard will be there personally to see things off." Price turned around and faced the soldiers "If he's back on the grid, then so are we."

"When are we going?" asked Chloe. Price just looked at the map again and said:

"Tomorrow morning. I recommend you to train today. I know you're tired after the patrol, but you're the best soldiers out here. You can go now, and Yuri, tell Nikolai to get the chopper ready." Yuri nodded and left the room. "Chloe and Soap, I need you two to guard the cordon at the three-hundredth meter into the woods tonight"

"Seriously?" frowned Chloe. Price just nodded. "But we need to train."

"Safety comes in first. If something happens I can always replace you with Mike and Melody" Price joked, although Chloe and Soap took that seriously. "You can leave now."

"I don't want to guard the cordon at night" whined Chloe, once they left the office.

"It's just like patrolling, only you don't have to move that much" Soap replied.

"And there's a better chance somebody will get you killed." Chloe darkly said, before going their separate ways.

Soap headed towards the shooting area, since it was probably empty at this time. When he arrived there he saw Melody training.

"Should've known you're here." muttered MacTavish.

"Good morning to you too" she replied sarcastically. "Sleep well?"

"Could've been better" he admitted. Melody turned around and faced her friend with a raised eyebrow.

"Spill" she said, in a demanding tone. Soap knew it would be pointless arguing with her.

"God, I feel like eight grade all over again, when I'm telling dad about my first crush" Soap laughed alongside Melody.

"Crush? On whom?" she asked, grinning, obviously knowing the answer.

"Snake" Soap replied sarcastically. "Who do you think?"

"How long?" she asked, unable to hide the smile off her face. Soap just sighed.

"I don't know." He sighed. She put a comforting arm on his shoulder.

"Aw, poor little Johnny…" she said teasingly. He just chuckled. "Did you talk to her?"

"She hates me" snorted Soap.

"Hey, I hated you at the beginning too. But now we're best friends." She smiled at her clueless friend. "I heard that you're at the cordon in the woods today. So you two will be alone for like six hours…"

"Where is this going?" asked MacTavish. Melody just smiled knowingly and went towards the exit.

"Mells?" Soap called out. She spun around and raised her eyebrows. "Can you do me a favor?"

..

"What time is it?" asked Chloe bored. MacTavish looked at his watch.

"It's eleven o'clock." The girl just sighed frustrated.

"One more hour" she muttered. They've been there since 6:00pm and those were the most boring, weird and awkward five hours in their lives.

"We can bail on it" MacTavish said casually. Well, he wouldn't actually bail, since he asked Melody to come here and replace them to guard the cordon, for Soap's little plan. Melody gladly accepted, since it was too boring for her to stay at the base.

"Really?" she asked suspiciously. MacTavish looked cool, nothing would give him away.

"Yeah. Nothing's happening here anyway" Soap stood up and offered his hand to Chloe. She eyed him warily but he was right: it was a complete boredom. She accepted his hand and stood up. MacTavish could see Melody through the trees and she gave him thumbs up.

"Where are we going anyway?" she asked as they approach the base.

"My apartment." Soap replied casually.

"_Your apartment_?" repeated Chloe with a raised eyebrow. "Why should we go to_ your apartment_?"

"Because it's closer, and people are going to see you if you'll go to yours"

He had a point. His headquarters were closer, since he lived in the building that was the closest to the woods and hers was located on the other side of the base. When they arrived at the building he was actually glad that the guard was gone. They climbed the stairs to his apartment. He opened the door and let Chloe in first.

His living arrangements were better than hers since he was the field captain. It had a living room united with a mini kitchen. There were also two doors, probably leading to the bathroom and the bedroom.

Soap walked over to the mini fridge and took out a package of bottles.

"Wine-coolers?" asked Chloe is disbelief "How old are we? Sixteen?"

"Trust me, those are special wine-coolers." He replied handing her a bottle.

"Anyway," she said, opening her bottle "Cheers!"

One by one the bottles were getting emptier and the talk was getting better. They talked, drank, talked, drank some more, until they finally stopped talking.

**Finally, action! I liked this chapter, it was fun to write. So, my dear friends, since Chloe and MacTavish get more *ahem* intimate, how do you think everything will turn out? Review :D**


	9. Chapter 8

**Hey there! I'm sorry for the long wait, i had to get ready for the final tests -.- It's kind of short, since i don't have much free time. Well, here's the next chapter, don't forget to review!**

The next morning Chloe woke up with a huge head ache. She popped one eye open and realized it wasn't her room. Then the events from the previous night hit her, which made her head hurt even more. Beside her, Soap was still asleep. She quietly stood up and got dressed, since she didn't want any awkward talks. She looked and the digital clock that clearly read: **_8:47_**.

"Shit" she muttered under her breath. They were both running late to the mission. "Wake up, Scotland or we're going to be late!"

Soap was a morning person, that's why he had no problem with getting up early. But a hangover-Soap needed at least a ten hour sleep, that's why it took Chloe more time to wake him. When he was half-awake, he got ready for their mission. They both ran out, not even bothering to look in the mirror, which was a really bad thing.

Meanwhile at the landing area, Mike, Melody, Yuri, Nikolai and Price were gazing around for any sign of their teammates. Price was already mad, since they were late and that could ruin their plan. Yuri and Nikolai were arm-wrestling while Melody and Mike were silently chatting.

"Where do you think they are?" Snake asked eyeing the area. Melody had some theories in her head but acted like she knew nothing.

"I don't know" shrugged Melody. She took out her phone and texted MacTavish. When she pressed the SEND button, Yuri exclaimed:

"I see 'em!" Everyone's heads turned to see their teammates.

"Where the hell have you been?" asked Price in such a rage that even Makarov himself would be scared.

Chloe was looking at her feet, trying to think of a legit excuse. When Price realized that they had nothing to say, he just started explaining their plan all over again. Chloe looked at Nikolai who was staring at her. She raised her eyebrows at him and Nikolai quickly looked away. She looked at Mike and Melody, and surprisingly they were looking at her with too much interest.

"Any questions?" Price asked in a calmer but still annoyed tone. Yuri shot his hand up and with a smirk on his face and asked:

"Chloe, is that a hickie on your neck?"

Chloe's hand shot up to cover one side of her neck. She glanced over at Nikolai and Mike who were covering their mouths, probably to hide the smile. When she looked at Melody, who mouthed to her: _"On the other side."_ She quickly covered the other side of her neck, tracing with her finger the little bruise. Price coughed awkwardly and told everyone to get on the helicopter.

…

The chilly October's wind was making Chloe's skin shiver. Price, Soap and Yuri were going inside the village to the factory while Chloe, Melody and Mike were the backup plan. Mike alongside Nikolai was guarding the chopper and Melody with Chloe were patrolling and looking for any signs of enemies. When they were at a safe distance from their teammates, Melody stopped and quickly turned around to face Chloe.

"So?" she asked with a grin.

"So, what?" Chloe raised her eyebrows, pretending not to know what exactly Melody wanted from her.

"I want to hear the story" Melody replied with one hand holding a desert eagle while trying to get the branches out of the way with the other one.

"There's nothing to talk about" insisted Chloe.

"Of course there is!" exclaimed Melody. "You slept with Soap"

"It was a one-night stand. It meant nothing!" Chloe threw her hands desperately in the air.

"Really?" Melody challenged. When Chloe said nothing, Melody instantly knew she won. Chloe suddenly realized that she had never even thought about anything like it. There was no excuse left in her head to push away the tough about feelings. "You don't have anything to say, Chloe? Nothing? Go on, contradict me! Where are your arguments? Where is that _"I don't have any feelings"_ crap? Last time I spoke to you, you were certain that you don't need a personal life. Eh, Chloe… We always push our feelings away – but what would happen if love just wouldn't exist? You don't want to believe it, can't believe it, but somewhere in the depths of your heart you know that that's how it is… But we like this whole business, Chloe, don't we? Me and you, we really like to bottle up our feelings! We will go to our graves but swear we can't love. Right? Wake up, Chloe! No one will write a book about you called _"The story of a heartless person"_, no one will sing about you… Thought, I doubt anyone will be even interested…"

Melody stopped and breathed for air: _"I can't believe I actually pulled this speech off"_ she thought. Chloe who was studying her fingernails through this monologue, raised her eyes to Melody and said gravely:

"I can't believe you truly believe in this kind of bullshit. I remember that you were telling me that the most important thing was to kill off Makarov, to rescue the President back, to save this world… Didn't you say all that – or wasn't it you? And now, look at you... – _love_ – What the hell is that?

"Yeah, well, I just figured out a thing or two, Chloe. I have felt something which you have yet to get, and you'll never get it: This is a losing fight, we are probably living the last days of our life… There's no hope… And then, you start thinking about all those things you missed, all those things you could've done or change, but all the same…"

"Resistance is futile, right?" Chloe offered, in a mean voice. "What are you driving at?"

Melody was silent, her eyes down-cast. Clearly this had cost her a lot – having never admitted her weaknesses to anybody, or said such a thing to a good friend. It was painful to her to hold up a white flag.

"But no! You can wait!" Chloe slowly said, turning her way back "And they can wait! Love, you say? _Destiny_? _Marriage? Kids?_ I'm not there yet. I'm not going to let it in either. Got it? I am not giving away my plans. Personal life? You call it that. Yes, I have some things I want to take care off. Fuck your books and songs. Let other people be preoccupied with that kind of crap. Last days? I'm not a lamb being led to slaughter. If you feel that you've fought all you can fight, then go ahead and desert, I won't judge you. But don't try and scare me. And don't try to drag me along with you into the slaughterhouse. Why are you giving me a sermon? If you don't do it alone, if you need to do it collectively, you won't be so ashamed? Or has Makarov promised you a pot of gold for each person that you bring in captivity? My fight is hopeless? You say that we're at the edge of the abyss? I spit on your abyss. If you think that your place is at the bottom of the abyss then take a deep breath and forward march. But I'm not coming for the ride. And I will survive. Got it? _I will survive_!"

Their glaring contest was interrupted by the sound of gunfire coming from the village.

**Looks like there's trouble in paradise. What do you think is going to happen with Soap and Chloe? Why is Melody acting so weird? You'll have to stay tunned to find out. Bye ;)**


	10. Chapter 9

"What's going on?" required Melody once they got back at the landing area.

"They're compromised. The factory was a dead end. I told 'em to go the militia's headquarters at the center of town. You three need to go help 'em, быстро!" Nikolai responded. Mike, Melody and Chloe exchanged looks and ran in the village. They raced with the speed of light, to the headquarters' coordinates when they heard a loud explosion.

"Mortars!" the three of them said at the same time. They started running down through the forest to get closer.

"Price where are you?" asked Mike through the earpiece.

"The tower with the mortar. We're going to burn the living shit out of the militia" replied the British voice.

"We're heading to Delta three-one-three. We'll be there in five" said Melody. As she said it, a group of militia appeared out of nowhere.

"Or eight" added Chloe. She quickly dodged behind a tree while Mike and Melody hid behind a rock. So the bloodbath began. Melody threw a flash grenade at the militia. When the grenade exploded, the trio killed the group. As they began running again, Yuri's voice ringed through the earpiece.

"Where are you?" he demanded, sounding angry. "We're ambushed."

"Hold on, my friend, we'll be there in three minutes" Mike said through gritted teeth.

Finally they arrived at the church and spotted Yuri, Price and Soap. They quickly joined their teammates.

"Price! There's the bird! They're moving the cargo!" Soap shouted over the sound of bullets.

"We're out of time! Soap, Chloe, get to the church now! We'll cover you!" Price shouted equally loud.

Neither Chloe nor Soap was thrilled about the idea of pairing up, but it's not like they actually had a choice. They ran up, avoiding the flying bullets and hid behind a wall to clear the way.

"Push forward to the church, NOW!"

Reloading their guns, they began running towards the door. When Chloe was about to open it, MacTavish pushed her out of the way as two hyenas ran out, followed by another pack of militia. One of those jumped on Soap, but he quickly sliced it with his pocket knife. Luckily for them, the rest of their team appeared behind them and helped them empty the room.

"Church is clear!" Melody exclaimed.

"Stack up to the door!" Price commanded. "Alright, lads, let's do this."

Yuri breached the door and another hyena attacked him. As he held it away with one hand, he shot the rest of the militia with his pistol. But they were late, because the helicopter flew away with the cargo.

"Damn!" exclaimed an enraged Price. "Nikolai, the shipment's gone. We missed our window."

"What about Makarov?" Nikolai asked.

"Must've done a runner. Just get us out of here" Soap opened a box with a **_Fregata_** sign on it.

"Empty. What do you think Makarov was after?"

"We'll ask the bastard when we find him"

…

Once they arrived back to the base, Price and Melody helped Mike to get to the doctor 'cause he got shot in the knee. Yuri and Nikolai went to the kitchens, leaving Chloe and Soap behind. After an awkward three minutes of walking, Chloe spoke up.

"Thanks" she said in a quiet voice.

"For what?" Soap furrowed his eyebrows.

"At the church, you pushed me out of the way." She explained.

"It was no big deal. I thought it was the least I can do for the…" He didn't finish the sentence, but coughed awkwardly, hoping she would understand what he meant. He realized that she did, since she covered her neck with her fingers. "Also it was your first mission, and I couldn't forgive myself if anything would happen to you."

As soon as these words came out of his mouth, he mentally punched himself, hard. She stayed silent all along, his last words replaying in her head. Maybe Melody was a little bit right.

"Well, I need to go" she said lamely and hurried to look for one person she could talk to. Unsurprisingly she found her at the shooting range.

"Hey Mells" Chloe said. Melody looked at Chloe, gave her a stiff nod and focused back on her targets. "Look, I'm sorry…"

"No, I'm the one who should be sorry." Melody said, interrupting her. "You were right. I just had a meltdown and today when Makarov slipped through our fingers, I realized you were right all along. How could I be so stupid to have feelings…"

"Wait, wait, wait, hold that thought" Chloe said, interrupting her this time. Then her face turned into a smirk "Feelings?"

Melody sent her a playful glare and put her pistol down. "Yeah" she replied with a smile.

"Hmm, let me guess…" Chloe replied sarcastically "Mike?"

Melody's eyes grew wide. "How did you..?"

"Please" Chloe replied.

_*Flashback*_

_"So what's the drawing of me, alongside a really freaky poem, doing in your journal?" Chloe asked Mike casually, after the obstacle course._

_"What drawing of you?" Mike replied with a question. She took the journal from his jacket pocket and looked through the pages._

_"There. You see? This one." She said, pointing at the drawing._

_"I don't want to disappoint your little fantasies" at this statement she snorted "but that's not a drawing of you"_

_"Figures." Sighed Chloe. "Since my eye color is definitely not brown"_

_"And your hair is not that wavy." Added Mike with a smirk._

_"Yeah, sure, go on, list all my imperfections" she said sarcastically._

_"Challenge accepted" he said, while Chloe just rolled her eyes and looked up at her best friend. He waved his hands in a weird way at her: "Meh." He said and continued to polish his gun. Chloe raised her eyebrows and poked Snake. Then she tried to wave her hands above her body the same way he did:_

_"Meh?" she asked._

_"Don't get me wrong, you're really pretty." Mike said quickly, trying not to get on her bad side. "But you're freakishly tall, pale, skinny and you don't believe in aliens"_

_"Anyway" Chloe said trying to avoid the giant elephant in the room "Who's this mystery girl? I thought the only women you knew it's me and your mom."_

_"Haha" he replied at his grinning friend._

_*End Of Flashback*_

"Yep, that's how I found out that he likes you." She stated. Melody looked surprised at this new information but quickly changed the subject.

"Since we're obviously having a girl talk, what's up with you and Scotland?" she asked, smirking.

"Nothing" Chloe lied. Melody raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"Really? Then answer me this: Why did you came running here to me, without even changing into normal clothes or taking a shower?"

"Because you're a really good friend and I wanted to apologize?" Chloe answered, more like a question. But still, Melody kept looking at her. Then Chloe sighed frustrated "Ugh, I sleep with a guy one time and I catch – _feelings_"

Chloe practically spit the last word, just like it was poison. Melody just chuckled.

"You can't _'catch'_ feelings, you just have them" she said.

"Why couldn't I _'have'_ them when we would be done with this Makarov thing?"

"You can't choose when or with whom you're falling in love with…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on. I didn't say anything about _love_" Chloe exclaimed, getting pink.

"Of course you didn't" muttered Melody, so the other girl wouldn't hear. "Look, here's what you'll do: I know Soap is usually training after nine, so you could go and check the baseball court. You go and kiss him: if it feels right, that's love, if not – that will be awkward."

Chloe's usual self would say that this would be a bad idea, but she just nodded. Before leaving she turned back to Melody: "Thanks"

…

The base's basketball court was empty and dim, with only a few lights switched on. He picked up the ball and went to the bench where his duffle bag sat. He took out a small towel and wiped his face and neck dry, while he quenched his thirst with the cold bottle of water he brought earlier. Watching the huge clock outside ticking, he saw that it was nearly ten o'clock. Soap wasn't really sure what time they were supposed to go to sleep, but at that moment, he didn't really care.

He slung his bag over his shoulder and headed for the showers. It was eerily dim, the light above his head flickered, casting quick shadows against the corridor. The locker room smelled of stale sweat which Soap was used to, he set down his bag on one of the benches and undressed himself, turning on the shower in one of the cubicles.

It has been only 24 hours since that one night stand. The thought of it left a bitter taste in his mouth as he pictured Chloe with somebody else. He would be lying if he said that he didn't feel anything towards this girl, at the same time, Soap somehow accepted the fact that he was going to die alone. He clenched his fist, shut his eyes as he stood under the torrent of the hot water.

He couldn't say that he didn't enjoy that night, which he didn't want to admit that he purposely got her drunk on wine-coolers he mixed with a little bit more vodka, but at the same time, he had the fear when he was with her. Fear of losing her too quickly – and deal with the consequences.

He left the locker room, rolling back his sleeves up to his elbow and checked his cellphone: 10:25pm. He wound up the corridor where the shooting area was. To his surprise, it was still lit, the strip of the light from the rectangular window of the door illuminated a section of the hallway.

MacTavish approached the room slowly and peered through the vertical window on the door. Behind a table was Snake polishing his M4A1. Soap wrenched the door open and he immediately looked up.

"Hey man, why aren't you asleep?" asked Soap casually, leaning against the doorframe.

"Did you sleep with her?" Soap was clearly taken aback with this question. Then Mike asked once again: "Did. You. Sleep. With. Her?"

MacTavish felt like a child whose been caught for a nasty thing. He sighed defeated and replied: "Yes"

There was a sense of tension afterwards, the awkwardness that came when none of them knew what to say. Soap looked away, his face trying to mask the guilt. He knew Mike knew her before she joined the task force, which was probably the reason he was all demanding. Maybe he had sort of a crush on Chloe?

"I'm not judging you." Spoke up Mike.

"You're not?" Soap raised his eyebrows. Mike just chuckled.

"You thought I'm going to kill you?" There was no response. "Well, you're wrong, 'cause Chloe is like a sister to me, that's why I'd crush anyone's face who tried to hurt her."

Soap just stood there dumbfounded. He had no idea why Mike told him this. Maybe the silent guy that was hiding behind the snake mask is smarter than he thought he was. Snake stood up and bump-fisted MacTavish.

"Good luck, man" he said before going out.

The truth was: Soap had no idea what the hell just happened.

He just decided to go back to play some more, since he wasn't really tired.

He was inside the familiar place, several lights were on, but it was not bright enough to illuminate the whole area. The dark orange ball sprung from the backboard and Soap caught it, using the momentum to bounce the ball and doing cross-overs, the ball passing between his muscled legs. Just then he heard noise. He whirled around and saw the door to the court open.

To his surprise, it was Chloe.

"Impressive" she said, closing the door behind her and walking towards him. He decided to show off in front of her.

He dribbled the ball as he ran. A jump shot and it went in. He smirked to himself, tossing the ball away. MacTavish dragged his feet to the benches, his sneakers squeaking against the waxed floor. He sat down as he took a big sip from the half-empty water bottle, trying to act calm. She walked over where the ball had rolled and picked it up, gazing around the lifeless court. She bounced the ball twice and took the shot. Sadly, the ball hit the blackboard and landed a few meters away.

"Good shot." He said teasingly clapping his hands. She just scoffed and picked up the ball.

"I always admired people that were good at sports" she admitted, trying to score but missed again.

Soap stood up and took the ball from her hands: "Let me."

He aimed and shot straight in the target.

"Show off, much?" she asked. He just shook his head and smiled.

"I can teach, ya" he handed her the ball back "It's like shooting from a sniper rifle"

She laughed and bounced the ball once. Then took a shot and the ball fell right through the cotton net.

"It was just a coincidence." She defended herself, taking the ball in her hands. He just walked over to her and took the ball away.

"Whatever will help you sleep at night, sweetheart." He whispered, leaning down and pressing his lips to hers, pulling her body against his as she kisses him back.

Even though the day started out frustrating and turned confusing, it ended on a good note with both of them. You know what they say: it's a thin line between love and hate.

**So, yeah. I decided to update a bigger chapter since i don't know when i will update the next time, with all those tests and stuff. But i'd like to hear a review from you my fellow friends, tell me what you think :)**


	11. Chapter 10

**I know, i'm a horrible person for not updating for like an eternity -.- This is not my best chapter, but i hope you'll enjoy it :)  
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**Two weeks later…**

"So – you and Chloe – halfway to some white chapel somewhere in the Atlantic City, already?" asked Melody through her phone.

"Not really" replied MacTavish, driving the car to the parking lot.

"Where are you two anyway?" Melody said, popping an Oreo in her mouth.

"Chloe wanted to get some things from her old house, and I – being the handsome boyfriend that I am – offered her a ride"

"Wow, you really like her, don't you?" Melody said with a smile.

Soap looked at the sleeping figure beside him. "Yeah… Talk to ya later." With that he hung up the phone and slightly shook Chloe. She opened her eyes and blinked several times to get used to the light. "We're here"

"Finally" she mumbled and got out the car, looking for the keys in her purse.

"Looks like someone _'missed'_ you" Soap said, adding air quotes for the word missed. The married couple that lived in the neighborhood was giving Chloe dirty looks, alongside an old lady who was walking with her dog.

"Just ignore them, they're not worth it, either way." She replied without emotion, but Soap knew that she was hurt. When they arrived at the door, Chloe stopped abruptly, making MacTavish almost bump into her.

"What the..?" Soap tried to ask, but got interrupted by Chloe.

"Someone's been here" Soap noticed that the door was slightly open and got his Magnum 44. just in case.

When Chloe opened the door she gasped at the sight. Everything was torn apart: the books from the bookshelves were lying all over the floor, the pictures from the wall were all shattered and the cushions from the sofa were all ripped.

"Oh no…" Chloe breathed out. She quickly ran to her old room and pushed the door open, revealing a completely empty room. "Those bastards took everything."

MacTavish scanned the room with his eyes and noticed a note folded on the nightstand. He walked over there and took it in his hand. He looked at Chloe as a question and she just gave one nod of approval. He carefully unfolded the note and showed her the single word written on it:

_**REVENGE**_

**..**

"They were in my house!" Chloe exclaimed trying to calm down. Price just mumbled a _'I'm too old for this'_ and sat back in his chair looking over some files. Yuri, Mike and Melody were watching the furious blonde while MacTavish was looking through Price's alcohol cabinet.

"Did you have something important there?" asked Mike, trying to stop the river of Russian swears that Nikolai and Yuri taught Chloe a while ago. Chloe stopped pacing and looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Only some newspaper articles about my father, me or Makarov, some old family photos and some of my paychecks, nothing that important."

"That's a good thing right?" asked Melody hopeful. "That means that they didn't found anything super special or something that might make you come to them if you'd know they would have it"

"But we can't relax" said MacTavish through gritted teeth, taking a bottle of scotch from the shelf, alongside six glasses, and pouring some in each one.

"Soap's right: we can't just loose our guard, we all remember what happened at Kamarov's base? We've seen dozens of other war strategies, these aren't just acts of vandalism, they're not just goals. This is something new. Something meaner. There's a chill in the air. There's death in the air. Makarov has only been back for like three weeks and we are already being penetrated by the fear here. And the more you know about him, the more you find out about him, the more you dig into the history… the stronger is the fear, as far as I understand. Chloe, have you seen Makarov in person, before?"

"Not that I remember…" Chloe said, playing with her fingers nervously. "But, if I'm honest, I'm doing just fine. I've been tortured by nightmares since I had ever first heard of him."

"Nightmares, you say? You too?" Melody frowned. "Then we need to act fast. The longer we wait, the bigger our fear will become, and Makarov will be even stronger. We can't risk anything."

Soap handed everyone a glass of scotch and cleared his throat:

"We're going to kill him, even if it will be the last thing we do."

Chloe was staring at her drink when she felt someone looking at her. She looked up and saw MacTavish waving his hand, as a sign to follow him. She put the glass on the table and left the room. They both went outside, straight to the big tree in the courtyard.

Soap turned to her straight on, and Chloe understood: he was about to ask her something really important. "Do you have a secret? Something that you wouldn't tell just to anyone, but that you could tell, hmmm, I don't know, me, perhaps?"

"How do you know I have a secret?" she asked nervously.

"You were playing with your fingers." He answered simply. "You're always doing that when you're hiding something"

"Well…" Chloe hesitated for a perceptive person that would have been enough in order to understand that such a secret existed.

"And I have a secret to. Why don't we swap? I need to share this secret with someone but I want to be sure that they won't blab. That's why you give me yours – and don't let it be any crap, but something serious, something that no one else should ever hear. And I'll tell you something, this is important to me. Very important – you understand?" he said, taking her hands in his.

Chloe wavered. Curiosity, of course, had got her, but she was frightened of telling her secret to a man who was not only the most awesome and handsome person on planet but also a cold blooded murderer who wouldn't hesitate in the slightest to remove any obstacle in his way.

Soap looked into her eyes reassuringly. "You know you have nothing to be afraid of me. I would never ever hurt you."

They had walked up to the big old tree that had been their hang-out spot. Chloe thought again for the last tome and decided what to do.

"I think I might've seen Makarov before, even closer than half of you."

"What do you mean?" Soap raised an eyebrow.

"The night before the letter came, I went to a bar. When I got there I met a man with a Russian accent. It was dark, I couldn't see his face, but now I'm pretty sure that was Makarov. And I guess that's how he found me."

Soap was silent for a time, digesting what he'd heard. Then in a hoarse voice he said, "You could've get killed then."

"I know" she silently replied.

"Since, you've kept your promise, listen to my secret… When Price told me you got the letter, I went with him. And that was not because you were a chased by a Makarov… but because I _kind of_ knew your father."

"What?" Chloe asked shocked. "How?"

"When I was a kid, your father visited my dad to discuss something. I was only nine, I couldn't understand what they were talking about, but I heard the name Makarov, a lot. Then my dad told your father about my future in the military, and made me promise that I'll keep you safe. And I guess I'm doing a pretty good job at doing my promise" he finished with a smirk.

**..**

_"There are confirmed reports of terrorist attacks in major Europe cities…"_ the running TV line said. _"…It's been called the worst terror events in the history…"_

"Это плохо…" sighed Yuri, while Nikolai nodded. Price just put a number in his phone and pressed the green button.

_"Who is this?"_ asked a voice through the speaker.

"A person who got a lead on the chemical attacks. I will only speak to the O.C." Price replied. After a few seconds another voice ringed through the room.

_"Identify yourself."_

"Mac. It's John" They head a heavy sigh on the other side on the phone.

_"We put a lot of names on the clocktower this week, lad."_

"It was Makarov. The bastard slipped through my fingers in Sierra Leone. What does MI6 know?" Price said angrily and frustrated.

_"You and your little task force are on everyone's shit-list, John. There's no way I could get you clearance."_

"Don't give me that!" snapped Price. "You still owe me for Prypiat and I'm calling it in."

_"Easy, son."_ Macmillan calmed him down _"Alright. We've traced the delivery freighter to an outfit in Bosaso, Somalia. It's run by a nasty piece of work named Waraabe. My hands are full with the bleeding at home, so you're on your own. Good hunting."_

With that the conversation ended.

"What's the security will look like?" asked Mike.

"Strictly second division. Local triggerman guard the compound."

"We'll stick out like bollocks on a bulldog. Stealth's not an option." Chloe examined the map closer.

"Then we'll just have to kick in the front door." Soap offered.

"Mates, get ready." Price commanded.

The next morning all seven of them were gathered around Nikolai's chopper.

"Our target is Waraabe. Do not kill him, I repeat do not kill him" Price said through his earpiece when everyone was already on the helicopter.

"But after we get the information we need, can we kill him?" asked Mike, adjusting his gun.

"He's all yours." confirmed Price.

They landed five miles away from the village, there were some cars waiting for them. In the distance they saw a huge sandstorm heading towards the village.

"Just let's move quickly before Waraabe moves onto the next location" Price said while he was driving the car.

"The sandstorm is moving in fast. We got only one shot at this." Soap said through his earpiece.

"Bravo Team, get ready to crush the gate" Price ordered.

"Bravo Team all ready." Melody confirmed. As they got closer to the gate, they saw Nikolai's helicopter above them.

"Nikolai, soften 'em up!" Soap commanded.

"Missiles away." Nikolai said as rockets flew towards the enemy.

"Targets ahead. Engage! Engage!" screamed Price.

Chloe with Soap were shooting from one car, with Melody and Mike from another one. As a canister of petrol exploded they crashed the gate. The village alarm started ringing, making it impossible to hear the orders. With all the noise around Chloe could hear Price: _"Slot these bastards fast!"_

As everyone was moving forward, she stayed behind to cover their back. The last thing she felt was a huge pain in the back of her head before going into darkness.

**I haven't updated for weeks and i leave you with a cliffhanger. Yep, i'm a horrible person. Don't forget to review :)**


	12. Chapter 11

**It's officially first day of summer, that's why here's the next chapter. By the way, it's kind of creepy and disgusting, but i had to make it that way. Enjoy!**

The young woman sat motionless in the wooden chair, wheezing. It was silent for quite some time, except for a small electrical whining noise in the corner, which she guessed was the cameras or computer systems.

"Well, Salling, as much as I'd love to stay in here with you and keep your dirty blood company, I have other obligations that need my assistance. You may thank me later for your privacy," the soldier said moments later. "Don't cry _too_ hard at my absence."

The wall slammed shut and Chloe was left to silence, all except for the electrical beeping in the corner. She hated being blind to her surroundings, hated not being able to see the faces of her captors.

_What am I going to do? I don't know how to stop this. _Chloe thought brokenly, wishing horribly that her teammates would break through this nightmare at any given moment. But this was not some random basement, and the task force wasn't trapped in a cellar below her, hearing her scream of her innocence. They didn't know where she was.

It seemed like hours before the wall creaked open again and light, determined footfalls enveloped the eerie silence of the panic room. The footsteps paused just in front of her and a small intake of breath made Chloe shiver.

"You must be the bait," guessed the newcomer.

His voice was deep and whispery, a dark rasp, hardly discernible. He did not sound familiar.

"My, my," he clucked and Chloe froze as a cold finger traced her cheekbone. "They did not warn me that you were—so _feminine_."

The way he whispered this made Chloe's stomach crawl backward toward her spine in repulsion.

"It is a rare occasion that one with such bad story holds this much awakening beauty," he continued darkly. "You were a late bloomer, weren't you, Salling?"

As he said this, his fingers swept downward toward the hollow of her neck, teasing her collarbone with his spidery touch. She jerked away, shouting out against the gag blocking her voice box.

"Oh, yes," he inhaled deeply, fingering her hair. "I'm going to have so much fun with you."

She gave another pitiful guttural sound against her gag.

"Hm? What was that?" he asked and teasingly touched her lips. "Should I remove this for you?"

Chloe nodded, whimpering.

"If only you promise not to scream," he conditioned.

She nodded once more and he pulled the cloth from her mouth.

"Ah, such pretty lips," he said, gently grazing her bottom lip with his fingernail.

"Don't touch me," she snarled, earning a throaty laugh from the man.

He was silent for some time, his footsteps echoing around her as he circled her.

"I will never betray the team to you," she promised after several minutes.

"Is that so?" he questioned. "Very well. Then you shall die for them. Everyone on this bloody team will die for their teammates."

"We would rather die honorably by defending someone we care about than to succumb to a pathetic life of hatred, manipulation, and coldness," Chloe snapped, shuddering at the fingers snaking their way through her hair. "Makarov has no power over any of us and he never will."

"You speak _the_ Makarov's name without fear," he noticed bitterly. "Such bravery does not become you. If only you were more _compliant_, you would be a wonderful asset to this cause."

Chloe glared against the blindfold.

"I shall _never_ join your filthy ranks," she hissed.

"_Filthy_? You dare to assume _we_ are _filthy_?" he shouted, suddenly very angry. The change was so sudden and so terrible that Chloe flinched. "_You_ my hideous little whore, are the one that is _filthy_, you pathetic, impudent little bitch!"

And something hard collided with the back of her head, pitching her forward against the straps binding her. The ropes burned and chafed into the skin of her wrists. She saw stars against the blackness of the blindfold.

"Consider that your warning," the man growled. "You have one more hour to contemplate our offer and give us your information willingly. When that hour is up and you still have not decided, I shall result to _other_ means. Rest while you can, filth."

And then the wall slammed shut. Left alone to her thoughts again, Chloe began to think of strategies, but none would be successful. The hour was ticking away and though Chloe continued to devise a plan.

But before she could come up with something, the wall was moved aside once more. Chloe froze and swallowed hard, licking her dry lips.

"_Mmm_," whispered his sibilant voice. "How I've missed you already and the night has not even begun. Have you mulled over my offer?"

"There was no need for thought," Chloe stated. "I made up my mind long ago against cowards like you."

"Then you shall die, forgotten inside this room," the men said through gritted teeth.

"Kill me, then," Chloe challenged.

A knife prodded into her jugular.

"How tempting an offer, my dear Chloe" he whispered and then withdrew his knife. "But I'm afraid I can't allow that. Now, I will give you one more chance, because I'm that kind of a man. Now, tell me where Price and the team are and I shall set you free."

"No."

"Ah, how shameful," he sighed. "Well, in that case—"

She had not been expecting such a cruel pain. She lunged in the bindings that fastened her to the chair, straining for escape, release—anything but this. She gritted her teeth, moaning inside her throat against the ripples of screams that threatened to break loose.

"Such strength," he noted and then stepped closer. "But I can do this all night, Salling. Shall I give you a stronger dose?"

_No, please,_ Chloe cried silently, but she could not open her mouth. She would not beg. She felt the cut rise higher in intensity, so much so that she began to rock back and forth, lashing dangerously against the chair, yet it did not budge—perhaps it was nailed to the ground? Her wrists burned from chafing, but the more she tried to sit still the more the intensity of the pain rose.

"Go on, go on," he egged, prodding her roughly in the chest with the point of his knife. "Let it out, you bloody whore. _Scream_ for me."

He shoved his knife into her stomach harder. The pain heightened by several more degrees until Chloe's whole form was on fire. Her skin was charring off, she was being stabbed, clawed, bitten, roasted alive—

The scream erupted from her throat with such shrillness and volume, it vibrated like a ghostly wail around the metallic room for _several_ seconds. She sobbed, but noticed that the horrible pain was still continuing, making her throat itch for another shriek of pain.

"Such a glorious sound, your scream," he hissed, chuckling darkly. "Like angels singing. Won't you do it for me again, Chloe? Will you sing for me again?"

"_Please_," she bawled as he raised the levels of pain higher.

She convulsed so sporadically that if the chair had not been nailed down, she would have toppled over and splintered herself. The flesh of her wrists was rubbed raw, the ropes biting savagely into her skin. Another horrible shriek ripped apart her chest, breaking out of her throat and splintering her lips as it flew away with the rest of her breath.

And then it was gone. Her body twitched repeatedly, but there was no more new pain. Her breaths were hungry and shallow and her throat was inflamed.

"Changed your mind yet, princess?" he asked.

She shook her head vehemently.

"Pity. You and I would have made such a wonderful pair," he stated. "I'll give you a while to recuperate and think things over. But let me warn you. It's worse the second time."

And then he was gone.

Chloe sat motionless in the chair, wheezing horrendously. Her hair, which had only hours ago been golden and full of luscious buoyancy, now lay flattened and damp across her face. Her skin, once pale and cool, was cracked and on fire. Her arms ached against the bonds bending her arms in the most uncomfortable of way. The itchy rope clamped around her wrists and ankles seared into her flesh like hot coals, reminding her that there was no escape. If only she had a knife!

_Don't come back_, she begged silently. _Please, just go away and never come back._

But her hopes were grim and thinned as the sickening sound of the wall moving back into place thudded around her. The torturous maniac entered the metallic prison with loud steps, swinging the wall shut behind him. His cold fingers brushed against her blindfold like the chill of death.

"Did you miss me_, filth?_"

The sibilant hiss shattered ominously around the room, bouncing off the walls before slapping her verbally across the face. She twitched in response to his voice. He took a step forward again, his dress shoes clapping the floor. One bony finger rustled with the fabric of his shirt and greeting her neck like a curious spider. He traced the skin of her neck slowly, raising shivers along her skin, before resting on the dimple of her chin. His skeletal appendages lifted her chin, bringing her face closer to the blackness under his hood.

Oh, how she wished she could _see_!

"I _said_, did you _miss_ me?"

Chloe tore her face away from the monster's icy touch. His voice still remained the same—low, deep, and grating; a growl that would never be recognized.

"Answer me, bitch!" he demanded, his black rage rising in the single absence of her voice.

His cutting slap could be heard before she felt it, and when she did, the searing pain shocked her numb body like a thousand knives. Chloe understood his statement of it being worse the second time, now. That was why he had left for those few blissful minutes. He had given her false hope that it was over, at least for a while, so that her emotions would react freshly when he touched her once more. Her despair would return with more force and power than the first, because now she knew what to expect, if not worse. And he would triumph over her again.

Still, Chloe remained silent, fighting with the last will she had inside her stone-beating heart. Another painful punch to her jaw had her crying out and he chuckled maniacally against her hair.

"There you are," he whispered.

Chloe glared heinously into her blindfold. Her narrowed eyes would have intimidated most had they fallen victim to it—in fact it would have made them run away screaming, but this man seemed to have no fear. What would a silly school girl's glare do to a vile monster like him?

He laughed as she shifted away from him—an evil, humorless, black laugh. Involuntary razor sharp shivers sliced up her spine.

"Oh, my pitiful little girl. Do you really think you are _strong_?" he taunted. "You are _weak_, Chloe. You are going to die a shriveled up skeleton in a pool of your own blood. No one is coming for you."

"Why don't you just kill me, then?" Chloe wondered hoarsely, her eyes burning fire into the blindfold.

"Oh, is that what you want? You want me to end your life, don't you? Well, I'm not going to do that, wench. You're going to scream for me _forever_."

Despair overtook her barely beating heart, so much that at first she was blinded by the blackness surrounding her foggy mind. Her breaths were ragged as she sucked in, willing herself to be strong, and waited.

_Do it_, she pleaded. _Just do it already and get it over and done with._

Chloe waited in the dark, blind. She didn't want to scream, but it had not been something that she had been expecting. The raw, scathing metal blade ripped apart her sleeve and severed her skin. Deep. Deeper it went. Blood pooled over and slithered to the ground, dripping and splashing. She hollered in shocked horror, listening to the blood as it wept from her veins. A cut here. A cut there. Her shoulder was bleeding. Her arm was burning. Another cut, another knife, another taunting remark.

"Your blood is tainted. Look at it flow," he whispered sadistically. "I wonder how tainted blood tastes, Salling? Does it taste excruciatingly dirty? Or does it taste so sinfully exciting that it is dangerously addictive?"

Her head was spinning.

"Price—_Soap_—"

"Your pathetic playmates aren't here to rescue you this time, Salling. You are mine. _Mine_!"

The torture continued for several more minutes—or was it hours? Her throat ached from the screams ripping apart her chest.

"_Oh, yes,_" he hissed, biting into her bleeding neck. She screamed and thrashed about in her chains. He chuckled darkly in her ear. "Yes, sing for me again. There's my girl."

She sobbed, despairing.

"Oh, princess," he exhaled and she shifted away from his hard grip. "I wish your MacTavish could see what I'm doing to his precious little girl. I think I'll kill MacTavish slowly when he comes for you. Why, you ask? Because Makarov will rule!"

His angry fingers clawed into the flesh of her cheek.

"Soap will kill you," vowed Chloe.

"Unlikely," the men growled. "Now, my wicked little girl, let's see what _other_ taints you have on you."

Chloe shuddered, repulsed as he sauntered closer, running his hands up the buttons of her shirt until he reached the hollow of her neck again. He slid the knife across her skin, slowly, playfully. She understood that this was no longer a mechanism to persuade her to join Makarov. No, it was much worse than that now. She was his toy, completely in his hands to do whatever he pleased and there was no way she could stop him.

The wintry blade of the knife traveled slowly down her neck and she let out a shuddery gasp as it tore through the top of her shirt. There was a rustling of fabric as he knelt in front of her, parting her clamped legs so that he rested between them, and kissed the skin on her exposed flesh. She quivered, feeling the bile churning toward her throat. He slowly and carefully removed the shirt from its tucked place, tracing with his tongue the blood marks from the knife.

And then there was pain. Hot, tearing pain. It was like razor sharp teeth had embedded themselves inside her stomach. Her head bent down and Chloe whimpered, feeling the knife creep deeper into her abdomen, even as he kissed her flesh. Rich, dark liquid bubbled to the surface and trickled down her pale body.

After he was satisfied with his new carving, he stood again. He circled behind her for endless, agonizing seconds. And then he was on her again, the knife positioned on her throat. His breath was moist and hot against her as his hand traveled down to her wound, prodding his fingers into the deep gash so that she opened her mouth and screamed, even as his death's lips forced themselves upon hers, and his tongue demanded entrance.

Frustrated, he broke his heated assault of her mouth and curled his fingers tightly around her hair, yanking hard.

"Struggle again and I carve a pretty drawing into the skin of something _else_," he threatened and Chloe winced at the thought as his knife tickled the skin of her kneecap.

He locked his lips with hers again, but she was unresponsive as stone. The monster was quaking now with anger and forced his tongue past her lips. She whimpered in disgust, unaware that he had raised his dagger again, slowly tracing it up her leg and toward the opening of her skirt, pressing hard into her thigh.

She acted upon fear and instinct, pressing her lips hard against his she kissed him back with such wild force that it quieted his every movement. The dagger clattered to the floor with a _clang_, his death hands gripping her face, pulling on her hair.

"You damnable _whore_!" he shrieked and Chloe fell back against her chair, spitting out a trickle of salty blood. "You _bit_ me! You demented _animal_!"

His hands shook with fury, searching for something left discarded on the floor. His blade came down again, slicing her thigh open deeply. She screeched. He chuckled darkly, anger now evident in his voice.

"That was _not_ smart, Salling. Now you're _really_ going to scream."

And she did.

**Uh-oh, looks like someone's in really biiiiiig trouble -.- What do you think will happen? Will the TF141 save her in time or she'll end up a skeleton in that basement? How do you think MacTavish and the team will react at her disappearance? Review!**


	13. Chapter 12

**Hello, my dearest readers! I wanted to tell you that summer is here, so that means...*drum-roll*... MORE UPDATES! :D :D :D Enjoy the next chapter!**

Chloe woke up in a hospital bed. The room was completely empty, except for the bed and a table with a package on it. She looked at herself and realized that her abdomen was covered in a bandage, she had a few, little scars on her arms, a big one on her shoulder and a huge one on her thigh. She sighed and stood up. As soon as she did her head started spinning. She quickly got hold of the edge of the table to balance herself. Slowly, she took the package from the wooden table and read the note:

_"Get dressed and go outside_"

She furrowed her eyebrows and opened the bag, revealing some clothes. She got dressed and went out. In the corridor a tall man in a suit with dark glasses was waiting.

"Follow me" he ordered and started walking down the hallway, Chloe following behind. They arrived at a metal door that was guarded from both sides with men with guns.

"Open the doors" he ordered, pointing at Chloe. She doubtfully opened the door and suddenly felt someone punching her hard in the stomach, making the air from her lungs to vanish. She fell on her knees, holding her wounded stomach. Then two pairs of arms took her and tied her down to a chair at a table.

"Leave us" told the voice behind the leather chair. It was low, calm but still freakishly scary. She knew that voice but she couldn't place it in her mind. The men left the room, except for the one that got her there. Slowly the leather chair turned around and Chloe's eyes widened.

"Such a pleasure to see you again, my dearest Chloe." Makarov said, examining the girl who was sitting opposite him.

"Wish that I could say the same" Chloe said through gritted teeth. Makarov snapped his fingers and the man punched Chloe in the face.

"Now, listen, you have two choices: one, you can tell me all the info I need and you'll be free or you can stay silent and you'll become Felix's new toy. I hope you do remember Felix?" Makarov asked, pressing a button on his keyboard and the TV started playing the video of her torture.

Chloe wanted to close her eyes and forget about the pain, but she couldn't show Makarov her weakness. She just kept looking with a straight face how Felix was torturing her. About a minute or so, Makarov paused the video.

"So, which one will it be?"

"I'll have to think about it" she said without emotion, she needed to make this conversation longer, so they would eventually get bored of her. The man's fist connected once again with her jaw.

"Ivan, stop." ordered Makarov. Chloe smirked.

"All this time I was being beat up by a guy with the name Ivan?" she asked mockingly, resulting anther punch.

"Chloe, you know that I don't want to hurt you." Makarov said.

"Yeah, that's why you let this guy do it" snorted Chloe, as she felt another punch in her face. She felt something hot dripping down her cheek and chin.

"Enough with this chit-chat!" snapped Makarov. "Who's the base's O.C.?"

"A guy named _'Fuck You'_, he's Chinese." Chloe replied, a smirk playing on her bloody lips. This time when the man punched her, she saw black dots before her eyes.

"If you want to live, you should better stop joking and start talking." Makarov threatened her. "Now, where is the base located?"

"Narnia." Chloe replied without emotion. "Though, we think about moving to Hogwarts."

After one more punch, she spitted out the blood from her mouth and wiped it with her shoulder. Makarov just chuckled and stood up from his chair.

"Chloe, Chloe, _Chloe_... Remember the first time we met?"

"Luckiest day of my life." replied sarcastically Chloe. That earned her another hit in the nose.

"Do you remember what you told me?" he asked mockingly.

"I have some problems traveling down the memory lane, could you remind me?" she asked disgustingly sweet. Makarov just chuckled darkly.

"You said that I was, as I quote,_ 'faith in humanity'_?"

"I can't recall, I was drunk, could've said anything." she said waiting for another hit, but it didn't came. She heard the door being opened and closed. She didn't knew if someone came in or went out but felt a shiver travel down her spine when someone pointed a blade at the back of her neck.

"Don't you think it would be better if we cooperate?" Makarov asked from behind her back.

"Not really, no." Chloe replied, feeling the point of the blade being pressed lightly in her neck.

"Pity. You could've been a great addition to the team."

"I would be a great addition to any team." she said, without that much confidence as she felt the knife travel down her spine. She heard Makarov chuckle once again.

"I bet that your dad would be proud of you." with the mention of her father, she visibly tensed. Makarov smiled an evil smile, knowing that he hit the right spot. He knew she wouldn't sell out her team, that's why he decided to keep her as his toy. He traced with his finger the exposed flesh of her shoulder making her breath shakier. "No smart reply for this one, Chloe? Because you know I'm right. You have murderer blood, and nothing's going to change it."

"A person's life is not based on his blood." Chloe noted bitterly, "He makes his own actions and decisions"

She finally untied the knot that was holding her to the chair and stood up, throwing the chair at Makarov. The chair hit him in the chest, making him loose balance and fall on the ground. She ran to the closest window and jumped out of it, landing in some bushes. She winced at the pain, but stood up and tried to run to the forest. She could hear the alarm coming from the base and tried to run faster, but her left leg made her limp, slowing her down. After minutes, or hours of running she fell on the cold ground, making her leg hurt even more. She noticed that there was a blood line trailing from where she just came from. She knew it was only a matter of time when the Russians are going to find her. She crawled to the nearest tree and leaned against it, thinking about all the scenarios that could've happen: she could've take the knife from Makarov and kill him, once and for all, or she could've torture him like she was. Chloe closed her eyes and drifted into unconsciousness, not hearing the rustling in the woods.

**Kind of short, but I've been kind of lazy :D But looks like someone's _still_ screwed up. What do you think will happen? Next chapter will be with our favorite Task Force! Review!**


	14. Chapter 13

**Fast update! Hooray for the fast update! As promised, MacTavish chapter! I swear, the action's going to be back on soon, but for now, you need to know that this chapter takes place in the same day as my previous chapter. Also, chapter 15 and 16 will happen in the same day, and so on. I should stop rambling and let you read the story.**

"We need to find her!" Exclaimed Soap, punching the nearest wall.

Melody had seen her friend angry, but this was something else. It was a mix or anger, sadness, guilt, madness and pure fury.

"John, calm down or you're going to destroy the whole base" Price tried to bring him to his senses.

"It's my entire freaking fault. I knew this mission will be too dangerous, I shouldn't have let her go."

"It's not your fault." Melody sighed. "We should've notice her absence before."

"Will you please stop with the craziness, people?" Price's voice rang out. Everyone immediately shutted up. "We all know that Chloe isn't our best soldier, but she knows how to stand up for herself. That's why I think we should focus on finding her, instead of looking for someone to blame everything for."

"Where shall we start looking?" MacTavish managed to squeeze out his reply and reluctantly calmed down.

"Nikolai's men are trying track Chloe by the signals from her tracking device." Melody responded.

"The Russian's aren't that stupid." Soap's mood suddenly darkened. "They would get rid of that device right away."

"They're not stupid" agreed Melody, "but we can't just give up"

"That's why we can't lose hope." Agreed Price. "We need to make a rescue plan"

"That's the hitch. Everything there is more complicated than it seems to you. A lot more complicated. They know that we're going to go after her. That's too simple: there's a trap"

"You're panicking?" Melody asked, surprised.

"Their main weapon is our steps. They're going to use our plan against us. If we're going to do something, we need to have the element of surprise on our side." Finished Soap.

Everyone was silent. Price was sitting there without moving, studying him and apparently thinking over what he'd heard. Then he spoke, slowly and quietly: "This is a threat for everybody, Soap."

MacTavish was silent, as though he didn't want to reply. The doors opened and Yuri came in.

"Any luck?" asked Mike hopefully. Yuri sadly shook his head no.

"We haven't come across any signal from neither Chloe, nor Makarov."

"We're not giving up on our task to find her." Nikolai appeared out of nowhere. "She might've been a pain in the arse, but she became kind of our friend"

There was a tense silence in the room, making people leave one after another, the only two remaining were Soap and Price.

"Listen to me, son." Price said in a serious tone, closing the door. "You know Chloe's been missing for four days now…"

"Yeah, hard to forget especially when the whole base is buzzing about it" Soap noted bitterly. Price sighed.

"You know that Makarov could've done anything with her." Price silently reminded him. MacTavish just rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"What do you want to say with this?"

"I say that she might be already dead." Price said through gritted teeth.

"She's not." Soap replied, a little bit too fast.

"John," Price said, putting a hand on Soap's shoulder "I know it's hard to believe it, but you need to face it. She might never come back"

"She's not dead." Choked out MacTavish after a hard silence. A big part of his brain knew that those things that Price told him were true, but a little part kept telling him that she'll be back. Price took out a bottle of his finest scotch from the liquor cabinet and poured some in two glasses. MacTavish gladly accepted one, emptying it with only one swig.

"Listen to me, now. If she doesn't come back, then you have to, at any cost – _at any cost_, you hear! – you have to keep fighting. Kill Makarov… And avenge Chloe. Make him pay. And one other thing, I will give you something that would belong to Chloe if she… well..." Price didn't finish but stood up and opened his top desk drawer. He took out a black small box and handed it to Soap.

"What the hell is that?" he asked opening the box, revealing Chloe's brand new dog tags. Unlike his, those were still clean and unscratched.

**_Name: Chloe M. Salling_**

**_DOB: 19.01.1990_**

**_Blood Type: IV+_**

**_Codename:_**

"Why there's no codename?" asked Soap.

"Since she wasn't with us a really long time, I didn't know what her codename should be." MacTavish nodded, although his mind was somewhere else. His eyes drifted to the open drawer, and he noticed Chloe's file in there. "Well, I got to go, Yuri wanted to talk to me about our next mission. Shall I leave the scotch bottle on the table?" Price asked with a smirk.

"Thanks, old man." Soap replied, as Price left the room. He stood up and walked to the desk and opened the drawer, taking out Chloe's file.

Soap kept looking through her criminal record, personal data and family data, after two hours he reached the last page:

**_Current status: K.I.A._**

**_Date of Death: 08.10.2012_**

**_Reason of death: Unknown_**

_What the hell?_

At the end of the page there was Price's signature and Soap felt even more confused than ever.

Even though it was late, he took out his phone and texted the only person he knew that will come there no matter what time it was. After a few minutes the door opened and Melody came in.

"What are you doing here?" She asked whisper-yelling at him. "Do you know that Price hates when you look through his stuff!"

"Yeah, that's why you and Chloe broke in here that one night before the patrol?" he challenged back. Melody furrowed her eyebrows:

"How did you…?"

"Chloe told me." He replied, not even bothering to let her finish her question. Melody sighed annoyed and looked at her friend.

"Why did you call me here?"

Soap stayed silent and showed her the file. Melody quickly read it and her eyes widened.

"Wait a second" she said examining the page, "That's…"

"Exactly." Soap agreed silently.

"But if the reason is unknown, how do they know is she's really dead?" Melody read that page all over again.

"Let's face it, she's been gone for four days now… What do you think Makarov would do with her for_ four_ days?"

Melody opened her mouth to argue, but closed it, since she knew he had a point. If Chloe would've said Makarov about the intel he needed, he would've killed her the first day. But since Chloe was too loyal for her own good, she probably stayed silent and Makarov, knowing that she wouldn't talk, just killed her. But Makarov could've kept her like a prisoner, knowing that the task force will come after her.

While she was thinking, she didn't even notice that Soap with a last swig, emptied the bottle of scotch. She didn't even flinch when the bottle went flying across the room, the sound of shattered glass probably waking the whole base up. She knew her friend was mad and most of all, he was feeling guilty.

You know what they say:_ 'The last man standing always feels the guilt of being alive'_

**Looks like they are already burying her alive... But they still don't know what's coming for them. So, did you like it? Please review!**_  
><em>


	15. Chapter 14

Chloe woke up in a bed, feeling as dizzy as ever. _Déjà vu…_ She looked around and noticed that she was in a cozy looking room, with wooden furniture and a fireplace. On the table beside the bed she saw a glass of water and a little tube with aspirin. The door cracked open and an old lady came in.

"Oh, dear, you're awake" she said with a smile. "I didn't even know if you were going to make it. What's your name?"

"Marissa." Chloe answered, using her middle name. The lady smiled a warm smile and Chloe felt somehow safe.

"My name is Molly. Molly Brown."

"It's a pleasure, Mrs. Brown" Chloe replied.

"Oh please, call me Molly. I feel old when you say Mrs. Brown" the lady laughed at her own joke. "Well, Marissa, you better take your pills, that's a nasty fel you had there… What happened, anyway?"

"I was hiking" replied Chloe, taking a sip from the glass. "And I fell from a tree."

"Oh, you poor thing. I took care of your wound, thank God my son found you on time." The old lady replied, giving Chloe the next round of pills.

"Um, where is your son? I would like to thank him personally for saving my life." Chloe said with a smile.

"Oh, he's in the woods again. Wild soul. He can't let a day go by without exploring the forest." Molly said with a grin.

"I bet he knows it like his own home…" Chloe stated. Molly just nodded.

"Do you want to take a walk around the house? You can explore our flower garden." She pointed out of the window and then smiled a proud smile. "I planted them all by myself."

"Impressive" Chloe said, not really paying attention at the garden, but at the forest.

"Thank you. I'll leave you alone now." Molly said, walking to the door.

"Thank you, for helping me. It means a lot." Chloe said, looking at the sky.

"Don't worry my dear, it was nothing." The lady replied, closing the door.

Chloe walked to the bookshelf and examined the photo frame that was there. There was Mrs. Brown with a man looking older than her, probably her husband, and two younger men. One of them had dirty blond hair and dark chocolate eyes, while the other one had the exactly same hair color, but his eyes were dark blue. She walked to the balcony and opened the door, revealing a clear view of the village. It was the kind of village that made you feel like Humphrey Bogart: you came in on a bumpy little plane, and, for some mysterious reason, got a private room with a balcony overlooking the town and the harbor; then you sat there and drank until something happened. In the distance she could see a small sign that said:_ 'Bogoslovo'_. She wondered if there was an airport or a train station here somewhere. She heard the door crack open and a person came in. She turned around and recognized the man from the picture, probably Mrs. Brown's son.

"Hi, my name's Eric" he said shaking Chloe's hand.

"Marissa." She replied. "So, you're my savior?"

Eric just laughed and shook his head lightly, "It's a man's duty to save a damsel in distress."

"Then I guess I must thank you." She said. She remembered that she needed to go back to the base. "Um, is there an airport in this location?"

"No, but there's a train station" Eric pointed to the village, "From there you can get a train to Moscow, and from there you can get wherever you want."

"How far is Moscow from here?" she asked, calculating in her head the approximate time needed.

"About 290 miles." Eric responded. She nodded her head slowly, as she tried to visualize Makarov already looking for her. "I guess you need to rest some more, that's why I'll leave you alone."

He headed to the door when Chloe spoke up, "I'm forever in your debt." Eric just shook his head and went out.

As soon as the door closed, Chloe opened the balcony and started climbing down. It was pretty hard, since half of her leg was bandaged and she was still a little bit weak. When she jumped down, she almost fell, but quickly regained her balance. She felt bad for going without even saying goodbye, but it would be better and safer for them. Now when she got on the street she figured she needed money. She saw a man in a suit walking down the street in her direction. She started walking towards him and_ 'accidentally'_ bumped into him.

"Извините" he said, and walked further and turned the corner. When he was out of sight, Chloe opened the wallet she stole from the man and looked through it. _'Just like old times'_ she thought with a smile. She took out a card and read the name.

_'I guess Viktor Ivanov won't mind'_ She thought as she saw his gold credit card. There was also some Russian money and some dollars . She walked down the streets, occasionally asking for directions and finally she arrived at the train station.

"Where are you heading to?" asked a middle aged woman who was selling tickets.

"Moscow." Chloe replied.

"Can I see your documents?" asked the lady. Chloe took out a one hundred dollar bill.

"What about this little present" she said, handing the lady the money, making sure nobody was looking, "And screw my documents?"

The lady looked thoughtful for a minute, but took the money and smiled, typing a random name and some numbers in the computer. Then she handed Chloe the ticket.

"Your train is leaving in ten minutes, Ms. Smith." She said. Chloe nodded thankfully and headed towards the entrance to the station.

After a three hour ride she finally arrived in the capitol of the great Russia. The alleys were buzzing with people, the streets full with cars and now and then she would notice a plane in the clear sky. It kind of reminded her of New York, only in Russian. She took a cab to the airport and watched through the window at the life in the big city.

When she arrived, she paid the car driver and looked up at the huge building.

_'Zakhaev International Airport'_

"Great." She muttered and entered the building. She heard about Makarov's massacre that happened there, but she never though that this place will still work after that. As soon as she entered, a cold chill ran down her spine as she imagined all those civilians getting killed. The security was guarding all the entrances and that's when Chloe realized that she couldn't pull that trick that she did at the train station. She knew she was screwed and she knew it.

"Fan-freaking-tastic." she whispered.

She made her way to the bathroom, so she wouldn't draw a lot of attention. When she opened the door, she saw that it was empty. She quickly splashed her face with cold water and put her hands on the cold sink. The door opened and another woman came in. She had blond hair, darker than Chloe's and dark blue eyes. Chloe seized the opportunity and pretended to exit the room, but as soon as the other woman turned her back, Chloe hit the back of the woman's head, making her loose balance as she fell on the floor, unconscious.

"I hope there are no cameras here." Chloe whispered, checking the woman's purse for her documents. She found her passport and a ticket to Paris. Chloe snorted, "Figures…"

She took the passport and walked away to buy the ticket. When it was her turn, she took a few breaths and handed the man the passport.

"One ticket to Kabul, please." She said, trying to act normal and calm, even if the inside of her stomach was crawling back to her spine. The man opened the passport and looked at the picture inside, then back at Chloe.

"Your eyes…" the man started, but Chloe interrupted him.

"Contact lenses." She said with the best fake-smile she could muster. The man looked unsure, but at the end gave her the ticket and the passport back. She paid and made her way towards the gate.

On the plane she was staring out of the window, feeling relieved.

"Now, only if I'd know where exactly in Afghanistan the base is located…" she sighed and drifted off to sleep.

**Yay for quick updates? I'm just soo over excited, since I got my inspiration back and it's awesomeee! Weell, here's the next chapter, i hope it turned out fine, and if you liked it, review! Pretty please :)**


	16. Chapter 15

**Yaay, another chapter! So, many of you said that the security in the previous chapter basically sucked, but hey, i'll try to improve that. Well, hope you enjoy and if you have some ideas for improvement, please review or PM me. Enjoy! **

Once Chloe got out of the plane, she went to the passport check. When it was her turn, she handed the passport to the man sitting in the booth. The man read the name and his eyes slightly widened.

"Excuse me for a moment." He said, before going out, her stolen passport in his hand.

Her stomach dropped to her feet when she realized she was really screwed. Chloe tapped her fingers nervously and the man finally came back. He nodded towards her, and two security guards took her by her hands, making sure she wasn't going to escape.

"What the hell?" she asked, making everyone else look at her.

The guards didn't respond but dragged her down a hallway, into a small room. There was only a table and two chairs. They put her down in a chair and tied her down with handcuffs. They left the room, leaving Chloe all by herself.

After a few minutes a man came in. He was tall with dark glasses and wearing a suit. He examined the girl and unlocked the handcuffs.

"Is that better?" he asked.

"Yeah" she replied. "Who are you?"

"Good evening." Another voice said behind her. She turned around and saw another man, similar to the first one.

"When are you going to tell me what's going on?" Chloe asked.

"I was hoping you would tell us what's going on." The first man told her.

"Farhang." The second one warned him in a_ 'shut up'_ voice. "Two hours ago we got a call from Zakhaev's International Airport, saying there was an attack in a bathroom. The woman got knocked out and now she says that her passport was stolen. Also, she says that except from her, the only other person in the bathroom was another blond woman. Now, the best part is, the camera noticed only you going out from the bathroom after the woman came in. So here we are. Now, why don't you tell us what's your real name?"

"Chloe. Chloe Salling." She replied. She was too tired to make a plan or lie, so, for the first time, she told the truth. Farhang chuckled, but immediately shutted up when she glared at him.

"Salling. Interesting…" the other man walked circles around her. "And, may I ask, is Billiam your father?"

"Does it really matter?" she asked annoyed. The men just chuckled.

"I see… Well, Chloe, I must tell you that you're arrested. And, Farhang, tell Ivan he's fired. The next time someone says he or _she_ is wearing contacts, they'll need to take them off.

* * *

><p><em>"Caller, please authenticate.<em>" The female operator said.

"Access Code: Black Viking. Get me a secure line to asset Metal 0-1" Price replied without spending much time. After a few minutes they heard Sandman's voice on the other side of the line.

"_Price, thanks for the tip on Kingfish. You should know that Uncle Sam's got a kill/capture order on your head_"

"Tell 'em to join the bloody queue." Price said, "Makarov's bomb-maker, Volk, is in Paris. We need to act before he bolts and I can't make the window. You're the only one I trust with this."

_"I'm on it_." They heard Sandman's short reply.

"The bastard used Fregata Industries as a front to distribute the WMD's. I'm on route to their European HQ." Price explained and disconnected, before they could even hear Sandman speak.

"So, European HQ?" asked Mike.

"Austria" came out Price's short reply. "Mac told me there could be some Intel about Makarov's next move."

"What _exactly_ is our objective?" asked Melody, looking through the numerous files on the desk.

"Find intel about names, dates, locations, Fregata… anything that has connection with Makarov"

"Just like a research?" asked Yuri.

"Don't lose your guard, Yuri. The whole base will be secured." Price told them, taking out a big map with the scheme of a base. "We'll use stealth to infiltrate from four different locations."

He marked four points on the scheme with his marker, "Melody, you'll infiltrate the base from East" Price said, writing a _'M_' on the east entrance, "Snake, you'll be coming in from North" he said, marking the north gate with a _'S_', "Yuri will take the North-West access point" he marked the N-W entrance with an _'Y_', "and I'll take the West entrance." He said writing a_ 'P'_ on the last point. Then he started drawing lines from each of those points that led to a room that was located S-E. Price took the red market and wrote there_ 'Rendezvous point'_ and the coordinates. "Everything clear?"

The soldiers nodded their heads.

"Guess, Soap's out in this one?" Melody asked, narrowing her eyes at Price.

"He's going to be our back-up. Once they spot the bodies, they're going to know we infiltrated the base, we'll need him to clear out our way to the chopper. Nikolai's going to bring him in after us. Now, get ready people."

…

Soap was walking down the empty hallways of the base. He was waiting for Nikolai to come, so he would finally get back into action. On one hand, it was good that he was here because of two reasons: he was still mad about Chloe, so he would blow their entire cover up and two he overslept the team's take-off. On the other hand, he wanted to go, because being on the base, just reminded him about her. He couldn't eat, he couldn't sleep, because she was all he was thinking about. He closed his eyes, he saw Chloe, every time he heard a song, it reminded him of Chloe, he was shooting in the shooting area, and yet still thinking about Chloe. Unconsciously, he arrived at her old room.

"Great" he muttered as he opened the door. The room was the same as he remembered: there was still unfinished paper-work on her desk, her knife was lying on the nightstand and Soap could see the Desert Eagle from under her pillow. On her bed he noticed her telephone. As soon as he took it, the phone started ringing.

_'Unknown'_

He sighed and answered the phone.

"MacTavish speaking."

"Didn't you know it is rude to answer someone else's phone?" the voice on the other line said. He recognized it instantly.

"What the hell did you do with Chloe?" he said, anger furiously rising inside him.

"I didn't do anything to your precious, Chloe…" Makarov chuckled on the other side of the phone.

"Then where the hell is she?" Soap required. "And why are you calling on her phone?"

Then there was silence. The bastard hung up… The door opened and two persons came in.

"Kirill, Maksim? What are you doing here?" MacTavish spoke up.

"We heard voices in this room." Maksim said.

"And we thought it was kind of weird since…" Kirill coughed awkwardly, knowing he should've stayed silent.

Soap was sure he would be cross-examined by them. They would shake him down, trying to find out who was he talking to. But, contrary to his expectations, Kirill and Maksim just stood there, awkwardly shuffling their feet.

"We were actually look for you, 'cause of some changes, we're coming with you." Maksim said. Soap slowly nodded, not really thinking about what they've just told him. With a final nod from Maksim and an awkward wave from Kirill, the Russians left the room.

_'E.T.A. five minutes_.' Soap heard Nikolai's voice through his earpiece.

"About bloody time." Sighed MacTavish and followed his teammates.

**Well, what do you think? It's not my best chapter, but I hope the next one will make up for everything. Please review!**


	17. Chapter 16

**Hiiiii! If there's anyone still reading this story i want to apologize for not updating for like a month. I've been dealing with a hard case of writer's block. I know this chapter is not _that _good, but at least it's something. Now, I'm getting my inspiration back, and with help and advice from my favorite author of all times, I'm going to be back on the grid :D Enjoy!**

In a prison cell. Again.

Chloe wasn't annoyed by the cold, the darkness, and the sound of water drops or the weird smell. No. She was annoyed by the constant stares. Two crazy looking men were silently chatting and looking at her. They looked like they spent more than half of their lives in that small stone room. On the other side there was a man, maybe in his fifties, looking as annoyed as Chloe.

"Shut up, already!" he said, making the men crawl further into the darkness. Even though, their chatter was barely a whisper, the old man heard it, and it got him really mad. The trembling pair was looking at him wide eyed and Chloe could see their fright.

They heard footsteps as a guard approached them. Through the small hole he passed them something that looked like food. The crazy men crawled to the tray of goo and started eating like it was the last day of their lives. But neither Chloe, nor the old man even moved a bit. After a few minutes of almost complete silence, the only sound being the chewing, the old man spoke up:

"You should eat" Chloe snorted.

"I'd rather die of hunger then eat – whatever that is."

The man examined her and then said, "You look familiar"

Chloe looked at him: he looked, unlike their 'roommates', completely sane, just like her. She could see that his arms were all covered in tattoos, just like Yuri's. On his face she noticed a scar going from the upper side of his nose, all the way down on the left side of his cheek.

"Chloe Salling" she replied. The man didn't even look surprised.

"Should've known. Not everyone has emerald eyes. Just like your father…"

"You knew my father?"

"We've been on missions before. _Semper Fidelis… Swordbreaker_…" he whispered more mission names that Chloe didn't get.

"Was he a good soldier?" she asked. Chloe knew it was a really stupid question, but she was always wondering about her father's skills.

"_Good_?" asked the man amused. Then he shook his head, "More like the best. You know that he was supposed to be here right now, instead of you…"

"What do you mean?" she asked confused. The old man made sure the others were still preoccupied with food.

"Do you even know where you are?" Chloe shook her head. She was blindfolded the whole trip to this place. "This is Makarov's prison. He keeps here people who aren't good for his deeds, but he can't kill them."

"And why would my father be here? He was killed by Makarov." Chloe sighed.

"Bill was killed because of Felix's stupidity." The old man grumbled. "Your father had a pistol and as soon as Felix saw Billiam taking out his gun, he freaked out and shot him in the stomach."

"Why didn't Makarov kill Felix?" Chloe wondered.

"Makarov is evil. But he's not going to just shoot his right hand, especially since Felix is Vladimir's brother." The man explained.

"_Brother_?" Chloe repeated, "But, how? I mean, have you seen him? He's completely insane."

Chloe remembered the dark chamber and Felix's dark chuckle. A shiver ran down her spine as she looked at the tiny scars on her arms, which were left by his knife.

"He is insane." The old man agreed. "That's why he had no idea what he's doing, he has no idea what's going on in the outside and he has no idea that he has a brother that wants to destroy the world."

Chloe nodded, processing the information she just heard. A tense silence hung in the air, making the wind outside the only sound being heard.

After a few minutes Chloe asked, "Why are you here?"

The man studied her for half of minute, until he finally responded, "Just like your father, I tried to stop him."

Melody knew that this wasn't just a research. Price never went just on researches, he had_ 'hikers'_ to do that. That's why she had to figure out Price's game, before it was too late. As she entered the building she realized it wasn't just a random headquarter.

"Price, why in bloody hell didn't you tell us this was a fucking prison?" She angrily whispered through her earpiece.

"Stay calm, Mouse. Don't forget the plan"

_'Is he insane?'_ Melody thought bitterly, as she silently took out a guard at the entrance.

She walked down a long hall to the rendezvous point. As she was going further, she realized their rendezvous point was a prison cell. She checked the coordinates once again, and took a deep breath, having a feeling that this wasn't going to be good. Silently, she took of the men that were guarding the entrance to the cell, and took the keys from one of them. Taking a deep breath, she reloaded her AK-47 and opened the door.

"Chloe?" she breathed out. Chloe looked up and saw her teammate. "Back from the dead, are we?"

Chloe chuckled at Melody's joke and heard the sound of footsteps in the distance. Melody heard them too and readjusted her gun, being ready to shoot. But she relaxed, when she saw Mike and Yuri walk up to them.

"I'm glad that you're okay." Mike said as he approached Melody.

"And I'm happy that you didn't get killed." She replied.

"Looks like I missed_ soo_ much" Chloe sighed, coming from the shadows.

Mike and Yuri's heads turned to her and both exclaimed at the same time, both surprised and confused, "Chloe!"

Mike ran up and hugged her as she awkwardly patted his back. Yuri, not knowing what to do just nodded towards her.

"Where's Price?" Melody asked.

"His path was the longest, but knowing Price, he will be here in a short time." Mike replied.

"Да, and then we take the prisoners and get the hell outta here." Yuri said.

"Wait, prisoners? Who else?" Chloe looked suspiciously at Yuri.

"I don't provide this kind of information." He solemnly replied.

"I do." They heard Price's voice from behind the corner. "Arthur, get over here."

Chloe saw the old man walk out of the prison cell and shake hands with Price.

"Thanks, old man." Arthur said. Price was about to say something, when they heard the prison's alarm.

"I hope you still know how to aim a gun." Price addressed to Chloe and Arthur. They both nodded in unison and took the guns that were lying on the floor.

"Now, let's get the hell out of there." Mike said, and walked forward, with the rest of the team following behind.

Melody slowed her pace to be in step with Chloe and smirked, "I want to see MacTavish's reaction to your appearance. I swear, for the time you were gone, Jack Daniel's became his best friend."

**Well, next chapter will see Chloe and Soap's reunion. Do you think it's going to be one of those romantic movie style reunion or a tricky one? Don't forget to review and stay tuned for the next chapters!**


	18. Chapter 17

"I'm telling you, I saw something in the bushes" Kirill said, desperately.

"You know, you should stop playing video games like Amnesia and Slender" Maksim replied annoyed.

"No, I swear, there was something moving!" Kirill threw his hands in the air to prove his point.

"Maybe it was just another lost pup?" MacTavish suggested. Maksim chuckled silently while Kirill glared at Soap.

They've been waiting for Price's signal for over an hour, but still nothing. Soap was getting a little bit worried since that wasn't going according to plan.

Price was supposed to contact them and tell them to clear the way out, since that place was guarded from all possible angles. But the line was silent. MacTavish tried contacting the team, but no response. Deep down inside his chest he knew something was wrong, but the task force was experienced enough to handle any situations. Or so he thought.

"Did you hear that?" Kirill asked.

Soap snapped out of his thought and heard gunfire in the distance.

"Looks like that's our cue" MacTavish said and took the AK47.

"No way, we have to wait for Price's signal!" Maksim argued.

"Don't be such a pussy and get your gun." Soap snapped.

"But Price…"

"That's an order!"

* * *

><p>"They cut our connection with the others" Price said while he was running through the forest, the rest of the team quickly following behind.<p>

"Maksim and the others' location is close, we can't stop." Yuri checked his earpiece once again, but it wasn't working.

"Let's just make sure we get out of here alive." Mike said from behind.

Chloe, who was obviously not focusing on their talk, had other thoughts in her head.

What will happen when MacTavish is going to see her? Is it going to be awkward? Is he going to be mad? Happy? She imagined all the possible scenarios in her head and all the ways Soap could react. It was Price who brought her back to reality:

"Ambush!"

Before she could react, she felt a stabbing pain in her right shoulder, which made her drop her gun. Chloe quickly ran to the nearby tree and hid from the storm of bullets that was going on. The thin fabric of her shirt was now soaked in blood and the pain was insufferable. With her jaw clenched alongside with her fists, she leaned her head against the tree. She closed her eyes, and before she knew it, Yuri was towering above her.

"Stay still" he said in his Russian accent, trying to look at the wound closely. "We got another one!"

"Another one?" asked Chloe. "Who else is hurt?"

Yuri didn't have to answer that question, because three feet away from her, Mike was lying on the ground shaking violently. Melody, Price and Arthur were all standing above him. She could clearly hear Melody muttering 'it's going to be fine' and Arthur saying something like 'he needs medical attention' and Price agreeing, but she couldn't see Mike's injury.

She saw three figures approaching, but she wasn't able to notice their faces clearly because of the fog her mind created.

"Aww, we missed the bloodbath." Said MacTavish in a fake-sad voice. "Wait, is that Chloe?"

And then she passed out.

She woke up because of the beeping sound that annoyed every bone in her body. Chloe opened an eye. She was in a bed, maybe a hospital one. And then again, she was also used to waking up and having no idea where she was.

She opened another eye.

She was definitely in an infirmary room. She realized that it was the same room where she got the stitches when Soap pinned her down. The base?

Someone walked by.

"Excuse me," Chloe said, trying to sit up, but the bandage on her shoulder made it more difficult. "I'm kind of confused with my location. Could you be so kind and tell me where the fuck am I?"

Chloe knew she should've been more polite, but the painkillers always had quite an effect on her. But the man just laughed. "And who are you?"

"Chloe Salling, you?" She replied, wondering why he would ask that.

"Salling, eh? Almost the whole base thought you were dead"

"Sorry to disappoint." Chloe said haughtily.

"Doctor Advait Hughes"

"That's no answer" Chloe said, looking around for a glass of water.

"You asked me who I am." Advait pointed out.

"Ah, yes. Yes, I did, but I quite lost interest a while ago." Chloe replied airily, lying back in the bed.

The Doctor was about to reply, but a knock on the door stopped him. The walked over there and opened it, revealing MacTavish behind it.

"Leave us." He said. As soon as she heard his voice, Chloe opened her eyes and managed to sit up, to meet his eyes.

When the doctor left the room, there was an uncomfortable silence. Neither of them knew what to say, what to do, how to act.

"How are you feelin'?" Soap asked.

"Been better." She replied with a shrug, which cost her a sting of pain from her shoulder. "How long was I out?"

"About five hours. The doctors took out the bullet, but it damaged the bone, so you'll have to stay out for a couple of missions" Soap explained. She nodded and a question popped into her head.

"How's Mike?" Soap pained expression made Chloe suddenly feel sick and worried. "What happened to him?"

"He got two bullets. One in the chest and respectively one in the stomach. The doctors said that the bullet from the stomach wasn't that lethal, but the one in his chest was dangerously close to his heart." He stopped and Chloe knew that it wasn't good.

"Oh God… did he?"

"No." He interrupted her "The doctors took them both out, but he lost a lot of blood. He's stabilized, but he's in a coma. Melody's out there with him."

She was speechless. Her best friend was one step away from dying. She just kept staring forward with a blank expression.

"What if he doesn't wake up?" Chloe knew this was a stupid and childish question, but she couldn't imagine Mike dead.

"He will. He's a tough bastard, he'll make it through." Soap replied. They were both avoiding the giant elephant in the room, but they still knew they had to talk about it. "Where were you all this time."

Chloe sighed, "Long story."

"Don't worry, I can keep up."

So she told him everything: how Felix tortured her, how Makarov wanted her to join him, how she ran away, how Mrs. Brown took care of her, how she stole the wallet, how she got to Moscow, about the airport and the prison.

After the story telling, MacTavish was silent. After a few second he stood up and threw the chair he was sitting on through the window, and the sound of shattering glass filled the room. With the slam of the door, Chloe was left confused, only with the wind in the room to keep her company.

**YEAH, I'M BACK! I'm soo extremely sorry for not updating for like a month. The writer's block is really killing me. This chapter is kind of short, and crappy, but it's something, right? Right? Okay... Just review and tell me what you think :)**

**Lots of love**

**-SA13**


	19. Chapter 18

**Three days later…**

Back in her room, Chloe was finishing up cleaning the numerous files on her desk. A radio sat on the table next to her, quietly singing out a soft rock song that Chloe had fallen in love with. She started sorting the papers when she heard the doors open with no footsteps accompanying it.

_Soap. _

"_I'm still alive but I'm barely breathing_

_Just prayin' to a God that I don't believe in"_

She looked over her shoulder and gave herself a mental high-five for being right once again. "Why do you always do that?" she finally asked, since it's been on her mind since he started sneaking up on her three days ago.

"Do what?"

"Sneaking up on me," she answered.

"'_Cause I got time while she got freedom_

'_Cause when a heart breaks, no, I don't break even"_

"I don't do sneaking," he replied, standing next to her. He stared at the radio for a second, "What's this?"

She looked at the radio and looked up at Soap with a blank face. "It's a radio, Soap. It plays radio waves transmitted from –"

"Don't get smart. You know what I meant."

"_Her best days were some of my worst_

_She finally met a man that's gonna put her first"_

"Since I'm not allowed to go train, it gets a little crazy sitting in here all day, re-arranging all those files over and over again. And, I'm wondering: why are you here?"

"I wanted to talk to you."

"Please, if you want to break any more windows, fine, just don't do it here." She sighed.

"I'm sorry. I think I just overreacted."

"You think?" Chloe said unbelievably, "It's not like you were the one who got tortured and I think you have no right to just throw chair out of windows, because…"

MacTavish just shut her up with the one way he knew best: he just kissed her. Even though Chloe would never admit this, but she missed him: his hair, grin, jokes, smell, even his insufferable smirk. And he missed her too, even if he was too proud to say that out loud. But the way he acted when she was gone made it clear.

"_While I'm wide awake she's no trouble sleeping_

'_Cause when a heart breaks no It don't break even, even, no"_

"Where have you been? I've been waiting for you for like half hour" Soap asked. Chloe turned away from him, pretending to look for her phone through the numerous files on the desk.

"I visited Mike" she replied.

"How's he feeling?"

"Pretty much the same. I also talked to Melody. Well, more like I talked and she just nodded here and there. "

"I know." Soap sighed "She's always like this when someone close to her gets in trouble. It's like she blocks herself from the outside world."

"Did it happen before?" Chloe raised her eyebrows. Melody always seemed so strong and this 'new' Melody, worried Chloe.

"_What am I supposed to do when the best part of me was always you?_

_And what am I supposed to say when I'm all chocked up that you're ok?"_

"Couple of times. Sometimes she's just too stubborn to admit what she's really feeling, that why this happens." MacTavish explained.

"I just hope Mike's going to wake up soon" Chloe said, leaning against the cold wall.

"_I'm falling to pieces, yeah" _

"News?" asked Chloe in the 'conference' room.

"Sandman got Volk. He's bringing him here" Came out Price's short reply.

"Why here?" inquired Soap.

"Because Volk is a though son of a bitch, he'll need more shaking to get out of him information." Price explained.

"Who's going to interrogate him?" Yuri asked.

"I'm still thinking about it." Price said.

"I can do it." Chloe said. All three pairs of eyes turned to her.

"I don't think so" Soap replied.

"I'm not sure it's going to be a good idea." Price said.

"Well, you're too old to do that, no offence. Soap has a pretty short temper. Yuri hates everyone that has a connection with Makarov, and probably will strangle Volk with his bare hands at the first chance. Mike is obviously I no shape to do anything and Melody is in her own dimension now. That means, I'm the best choice." Price looked thoughtful. Even though Chloe called him old, she still got a point. "And, you basically declared me dead, so you owe me."

"Do you think you'll get him to talk?" Soap asked doubtfully.

"I'll get him to sing" she smirked.

There was a light knock on the door and Nikolai walked in, "They're here."

"_I'm falling to pieces…"_

Soap sat in a chair behind the glass, nervously tapping his fingers on the table. Both Nikolai and Yuri were annoyed by MacTavish's behavior.

"Would you stop already? She's not five, she knows what she's doing." Nikolai snapped.

"I hope so." Silently muttered Yuri.

Behind the glass Volk was handcuffed and tied up to a chair. When Chloe entered the room, he wolf whistled, making Soap's knuckles turn white.

"So, how are you feeling?" she asked without emotion, looking through his files.

"Better now that I got the chance to see you, beauty." He said. His reply made her sick, but she acted cool.

"Everyone deserves to see something pretty before they die" She replied.

"BUUURN!" Both Yuri and Nikolai screamed behind the glass.

"Why so harsh, sweetheart?" Volk asked. Chloe just took out a knife out of her pocket.

"Okay, enough with the chit-chat. Let's play a game: I'll ask you a bunch of questions and if your answer isn't right, you'll lose a finger. Clear?"

"A creature like you wouldn't be able to do such a horrible thing." He said, relaxed.

"Wrong answer."

"_They say bad things happen for a reason_

_But no wise words gonna stop the bleeding"_

"_Did our man talk?"_ asked Sandman.

"They always talk" Price replied, taking a look at a smirking Chloe.

"We got names, dates, locations. Volk gave us everything, even Fregata." Chloe said.

"_It seems that your hunch was right, Captain_" They heard Sandman's reply.

"Makarov is already making friends." Price thought out loud.

"He's meeting his top advisors six hours from now. Location is the Hotel Lustig. It's in the center of the city, near the old square" Soap said, looking through the new Intel.

"_We'll have Tier One groups assigned to handle this, but I don't think they'll make it in time… but you're close._" Sandman told them.

"Very" Price looked at the map. "I'll contact you when it's done"

And the line went dead.

"'_Cause she's moved on while I'm still grieving _

_And when a heart breaks no I don't break even, even… no"_

"Makarov's council all together in the middle of a warzone? Sounds convenient" Yuri said.

"Overconfidence makes you careless." Price warned him. "We'll infiltrate along two separate routes. Soap, you and Yuri head for the church and provide overwatch."

"The city's locked down tight. We'll need a back door."

"Leave that to me" Price replied and left the room.

"_Oh you got his heart and my heart and none of the pain_

_You took your suitcase , I took the blame."_

"I heard you were leaving" Chloe entered Soap's room without any hesitation.

"You know, next time, a knock should've been good" Soap replied.

"Just say thanks that I'm not throwing chairs at your face." She snapped.

"I said sorry, what do you want from me?"

"Answer my question."

MacTavish sighed, "Yes, me alongside Yuri and Price are leaving"

"Why nobody told me there was a mission?"

"Because you are injured and you need to rest. You've been gone for a long time and Price thinks it would be better if you'd keep a low profile."

"My wound is almost healed and I don't think that this is his choice" Chloe argued.

"Well, partially it is, since you're his goddaughter."

"On whose side are you, anyway?" she crossed her arms over her chest.

"_Now I'm tryin to make sense of my little remains, ooh_

'_Cause you left me with no love and honor to my name" _

"This time, I think the old man's right." He walked over to her, "And besides, Melody needs a friend right now"

"Melody needs Mike to wake up right now" She sighed. "I'm just sad that I won't be the one who'll kill Makarov"

Soap laughed, "Don't worry, I'll shot him once for you."

She smiled and pressed her lips to his, "Just promise me you'll be extra careful. You don't know what's going on in Makarov's mind"

"Promise"

"_I'm falling to pieces…"_

_****_**Hello! I realized that i was kind of a horrible author for not updating for like a month, that's why you got a double update! I tried to do this more like a songfic-chapter, but it's not just a random song. It has some clues about what's gonna happen in the later chapters, so, if you liked it, review!**


	20. Chapter 19

**Hey there! I'm super mega sorry that i haven't updated for oh-so-long, but my _friend "_accidently" deleted my chapters from the computer, that's why it took so long. If there's anyone still reading the story, i'm grateful that you don't give up on me :) **

Chloe woke up in bed alone. The thought of Soap was hours away from killing Makarov, made her sick. She shakily stood up and walked to the drawers, to look for some painkillers. After a few minutes of rustling she realized it will be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

She found some old photos of Soap and Price, probably with some old comrades. There were also some speed tickets, little action figures and a lot of useless stuff. Chloe's attention caught a small box lying under the huge folders. She perfectly knew that she was totally invading Soap's privacy right now, but she was too curious for her own good. She opened the box and found some dog-tags. When she examined them closer, she realized that those were her dog-tags.

After a few minutes of playing with her new-found toy, she put the box and everything else back in and got dressed. She knew that she had to go to the infirmary to get some Aspirin and on the way she could visit Mike.

"How's your shoulder, Miss Salling?" Doctor Advait asked.

"Fine, I'm just feeling little bit dizzy." Chloe explained.

"Oh, it should be just a bad flu, but I'll run some tests to be more precise." The doctor said, taking out the needle to take the sample.

At the sight of blood, Chloe's stomach turned into a million tiny knots. She quickly turned her head away and closed her eyes, taking deep breaths.

"Are you alright?" Advait asked, looking a little bit worried.

"You're a bloody doctor, _you_ should tell _me_ if I'm fine or not." She snapped at the man, taking some painkillers from the nearby stand and walking out of the door.

When she arrived at Mike's room, she wasn't even surprised when she saw Melody sitting there.

"Hey Melody." Chloe greeted her, but Melody was stoic as ever. Chloe took a seat next to her, both of them being silent. Chloe sighed perfectly knowing that she'll be the only one talking. Without expecting an answer she asked, "Why are you being like this?"

After a few moments, Melody looked at Chloe and replied, "When I was younger my father wanted me to become a, how should I call it, _killing machine_. I wasn't allowed to show any emotions, at all. After a couple of years, when the members of my first squad died, I didn't know how to react. I thought that if I would just close myself from the outside world, it will all go away. Surely, after weeks or months it went away, but it still left scars. Since then it became a kind of a reflex."

Chloe, clearly surprised by this reply, was touched by this story. She knew Melody had a tough life when she was younger, but she never expected that.

"What's the doc saying?" Chloe asked when the silence became too long.

"Pretty much the same." She heard Melody's short reply. "What's wrong with you? You look too white today."

"Today's the day." Chloe said, checking the digital clock on the table.

"Feeling nervous?"

"Not nervous. Anxiety. I just have a bad feeling about all this."

A knock at the door interrupted them and Advait entered the room:

"Chloe, Price contacted us. Soap's got shot"

Everything that happened after those words was a blur for Chloe. She didn't remember how the chopper landed, how a limping Yuri tried to get off the chopper, how Price and Nikolai were carrying a bloody Soap and how the doctors came rushing to help them.

Hours later, the doctors came out of the operation room.

"How is he?" asked Chloe.

"I'm afraid I have bad news."

"What kind of bad news?" asked Price. He alongside Chloe, Yuri, Melody, Nikolai and other teammates were waiting in the hall.

"The bullet was poisoned." The doctor replied. Everyone stared at him with shock written all over their faces.

"What do you mean?" Melody asked.

"We don't know what it is. It's not too much to kill him instantly… but enough to let him die slowly and painfully."

When the doctor left, everyone turned to look at Chloe, but she was nowhere in sight.

Once Chloe was outside, she took a deep breath, trying to keep calm and not to break down in tears. With shaking fingers, she took out her phone and dialed a number.

"Hello?" asked the voice on the other side.

"We need to talk."

**3 days later…**

In the dim lights of the boulevard, no one noticed a shadow standing at the corner of the street. It was hard to see if it was a man or woman, since the figure was all dressed in black. Out of nowhere, a car was speeding down the road and stopped, nearly running over that person.

"Of course you had to pick me up at the corner, just like I'm a cheap hooker" Chloe said, once she was sitting in the car. The person beside her didn't even bother to look up.

"Oh, my dear, I don't think you are cheap. We both know the price I pay."

"We have a deal, remember?" She shot a glare to her partner. Lowering her voice, she asked, "Did you bring it?"

The person nodded at the suitcase lying on the car floor. Before Chloe could reach for it, the person stopped her.

"I remember we had a deal, but do you? How will I know that you won't betray me?"

"I guess you'll have to trust me." Chloe replied.

"You're not the only one with trust issues here. I know that when you'll get the first chance, you'll stab me in the back like your little friends would."

"Well, I won't. A deal's a deal: I'm doing my part and you do yours." Chloe snapped. The person just chuckled.

"It's funny how someone would do so much for somebody. But do you think it will be worth it, since they'll probably see you in another light after this?"

The car arrived at its destination, as Chloe took the suitcase and jumped out the car.

**Ooooh, mystery. I know that in the game, Soap got injured from falling from the building, but hey, this is what fanfiction was created for. I know that this chapter was kind of short and bad-written, but it's better than nothing. So, review? 3 :))))**


	21. Chapter 20

**Yes, I am alive! I'm so sorry for not updating for an eternity, I just had some problems with my account. I hope you enjoy this extra big chapter! Don****'t forget to review! :) :) :)**

Zhenya was at home and now Chloe could pass the evening discussing the latest news and having conversations about the future over strong tea.

"Great!" her friend exclaimed in response to Chloe's greeting. "You're also on the mission today? They put me there too. I'm so sick of it that I wanted to ask my boss to switch me. But if they put you with me then that's fine. You were on a mission last night too, right? Well, tell me! I heard that you had a state of emergency there. What happened?"

Chloe cast a sidelong look at Zhenya's younger sister with great emphasis as she had become so interested in the conversation that she had stopped combing her doll, and was watching them with bated breath and round eyes from the corner of the room.

"Listen, little one!" Zhenya said strictly, having understood what Chloe meant. "You, now, go on, get out of here with your little new thing and go show it to Anita. You know how she likes your dolls, and we have to be nice to the cook."

The little girl squeaked indignantly and started to gather her things with a gloomy look on her face, meanwhile making suggestions to her doll, who was blankly looking up at the ceiling with her eyes. "You think you're so important! I know everything anyway! You're going to talk about your drugs!" she said contemptuously.

"You, Lenka, are still too small to discuss drugs. The milk on your lips hasn't even dried yet!" Chloe put her in her place.

"What milk?" the girl asked, puzzled, touching her lips. But neither of them bothered to explain and the question hung in the air.

When she left, Zhenya locked the door behind her and asked, "Well, what happened? Go on, spill it! I've heard quite a lot about it already. One guy says that Felix got shot in the shoulder and his hand fell off. Another guy says that you got discovered and the whole base was on your tail. Who should I believe?"

"Don't believe anyone!" Chloe advised. "They're all lying. That's not what happened…"

_*Flashback*_

_Chloe walked towards the hospital wing, where Soap was located. Since it was around midnight, she hoped that he was fast asleep. When Chloe entered the room, she immediately locked the door behind her. _

_Soap was sleeping, but Chloe could see his trouble with breathing, the sweat forming on his forehead and the shaking. It killed her to see him this way. She put the suitcase on the night stand and opened it, revealing an injection with pale blue liquid in it. _

_*End of flashback*_

"Yeah, I know that part. Tell me what happened when Felix with the team arrived!"

"We were supposed to meet up in the woods. The rendezvous point was pretty close to the base, that's why I think Rodriguez followed me –"

"Wait, wait! Who the hell is Rodriguez?" Zhenya asked, perplexed.

"Oh, it was Maksim's dog. We actually found him in the woods, while we were patrolling. Or, more likely, he found us."

"Okay, but what does he have to do with the mission?"

"Cause that was _'the emergency'_" Chloe added air quotes. "When Felix arrived the dog started barking like mad and he shot it. The base heard the gunshot and sent patrols to investigate. But we were already miles away, that's why no one noticed us." Zhenya nodded, a little bit disappointed with the story. "So, what's new with you? What have you heard from the boys?"

Zhenya's friends were Makarov's personal assistants: they knew exactly everything about the cargo ship and Fregata. They weren't fond of Makarov, but some family issues, debts or stupid mistakes made them join Makarov's team, just like Zhenya. Because of the debts that his family had, they had to join Makarov and, just like Chloe and half of the base, he really wanted to escape.

"The guys didn't go on any missions at all" said Zhenya. "Lekha says that they will go and sign another contract with Fregata to deliver the cargo to New York."

"I'm not talking about that!" Chloe waved him away. "But what have you heard about the task force? What's the situation?"

"The situation? Nothing it seems. There are all sorts of rumors, of course, but that's no different than usual – you know yourself that any military base can't survive without their gossip and stories. They'd wither straight away if you didn't feed them a few rumors. But, whether you should believe their rubbish is another question. It looks as though all's quiet. But wait!" He remembered something. "They forbid the sale of weed on the trader's market. Now, if they find any weed on a trader, they will confiscate it all and will chuck him out of the market and put it on his record too. And that's like death for a trader."

"Come on! What – they've just forbidden it? What are they thinking?"

"They say that they decided that it's a drug since it affects the way you see things. And that your brain starts to corrode if you take it too often. They're, like, doing it for health reasons."

"They should take care of their own health! Why are they worrying about our all of a sudden?"

"You know what?" Zhenya said in a low voice. "Lekha says that they're putting out all sorts of misinfo about things that are bad for your health."

"What misinfo?" Chloe asked, surprised.

"Misinformation. Here, listen. Lekha once went to the north part of the market, you know, the part with crazy people. He was doing some dark business – wouldn't even say what it was. And there he met an interesting old guy. A magician."

"Who?" Chloe couldn't hold back and burst out laughing. "A _magician_? At the trader's market? Come on, he's having you on, your Lekha. And what, the magician gave him a magic wand? Or a stick that turns into a flower?"

"You're and idiot." Zhenya was offended. "You think you know it all? Just because you haven't met a magician doesn't mean there aren't any. Basically, if you don't want to hear about it, then screw you."

"Okay, okay, Zhenya, go ahead. It's interesting anyway. Even if it sounds like…"Chloe smiled.

"Well, he was wandering through the lines of the market and in a corner he saw him: all alone, looking pretty normal, muttering some stuff under his nose. So, Lekha came up to him and asked where he can find the guy who owns the market. And the old man was all like: _'I know why you're here and I can help you'_ and Lekha was taken aback by his words, but, it's the north part: everyone's crazy there. So the old man led him to a more silent place and told him everything. Lekha didn't want to tell me about their talk, but he said that the guy gave him a lot of information about everything: Fregata, the market, even" Zhenya lowered his voice, "the _other side_."

Chloe went quiet and sank into thought, "Who's the other side?"

"You may think that all the bad things that happen in this world are Makarov's fault, but there is someone else who is involved. For example, the U.S.M.C. base? We didn't lay a finger on them, but the other side did. Rumor has it that the S.A.S. base will be next."

"And the next one could be the task force." Chloe realized. "But, who can it be?"

"Nobody knows. They work perfectly clean. No sign of violence, whatsoever, and no blood, corpses or bullets. It's like they're invisible." After a few moment of silence, Zhenya finally decided to ask, "What's the real reason you joined Makarov. You told it was kind of a debt…"

"Well, it all started when Soap got shot…" Chloe sighed.

_*Flashback*_

"_Hello?" asked the voice on the other side._

"_We need to talk." Chloe said._

"_Oh, my dear. I haven't seen you in Prague. You should know that the bullet was actually meant for you."_

"_I need the medicine." Chloe demanded._

"_And what shall I get in return?"_

"_Anything." _

"_That's tempting. What would you say if I send a car to get you and we'll talk privately."_

"_Fine" came out Chloe's short reply. _

_*End of flashback*_

"The next day I met up with Makarov, the agreed on the compromise of him giving me medicine and me joining his team. On the same day we met and you know the story from then on… We've sat here for a while, and it's almost time to go to work. Let's get ready. We can talk more when we get back."

Chloe got up reluctantly, dragged herself home – that's how she called the tiny apartment she was living in. Her roommate – Adeline, was still sleeping, it was totally quiet at the base: most people had probably been let off work or training and there was a little time left until the night shift began. She should hurry up. Going past Makarov's office, Chloe saw that the door was slightly opened and the room was empty. Her heart skipped a beat. She imagined how much intel she could get from that room, but quickly reminded herself that they were on the same side. She knew what fate lay before her.

The hospital wing was located in a dead-end, on the top of a hill, where the base was ending. All the emptiness around gave the impression that you were literally in the middle of nowhere.

Soap sat on the bed and wasn't interested enough to listen how the doctors were discussing his magical healing. Indeed, his fever went back to normal, he was feeling well and the feeling of his organs dying went away.

What the hell happened? Last night he was sure he'll die in twelve hours and now he has the urge to go shoot somebody. Even the doctors had no idea how that happened. Price was comparing last night's results and the ones from this morning. Even Price's skeptical mind was now foggy.

"Hey Soap! Soap! You sleeping there or what? Why aren't you listening? Are you feeling bad again?" Price shook his shoulder. "Did you hear what the doctor was saying? You are a free man. You can get the hell out of this hole, unless you want to stay…"

"No, I'll go." Soap replied quickly with a grin.

"Great and now get ready. Then you could go surprise Chloe."

"Right, how is she?" Soap asked.

"Honestly, I don't know. Nobody does. Her room is locked and she didn't answer when we talked to her"

"I hope she's fine…" muttered Soap so nobody could hear him.

But his worst thought were confirmed: she wasn't in her room. Using the spare key she gave him, he searched every inch of the room.

"Fuck!" he swore out loud making his way out and going toward Melody's office.

"Hey, Alexander. Could I speak to Melody for a minute?"

"Of course, Soap, come in. Want some tea?" the duty officer said hospitably.

"Oh, hey champ. Heard the news you were back from the dead. Again." Melody said while pushing her chair back from the table.

"When was the last time you've seen Chloe?" MacTavish asked.

Melody was clearly surprised, "Um, I think it was the day we came back from Prague. The last time I was her was in the hallway in the hospital."

"And you haven't talked to her ever since?"

"I tried, but her room was locked and she never replied. Why are you asking?"

"I think she's in trouble."

When MacTavish ran to the helicopter, he noticed everyone already being there. He noticed that Sandman was there too, alongside Frost. Everyone got in quickly and the chopper flew off.

"Makarov tracked Vorshevsky's daughter to Berlin. If they find the girl, it's only a matter of time until he gives up the nuclear codes" Price said.

"Do we have her exact location?" asked Sandman.

"Triangulating now." Yuri replied.

"ISA cell phone snipers just intercepted a call from her" Melody informed them. "Patching you through in three, two, one."

"Alena Vorshevsky?" asked Sandman.

"_Who is this?"_ came out a scared girl's voice on the other side of the line.

"American Special Forces. Do you speak English?"

"_Yes. My security's dead. They're coming for me."_ Panicked the girl.

"Stay calm, we're in route to you now. Where are you exactly?"

"_Closet. Fifth floor suite_."

"Which side?"

"_I don't know. There's a building across the road… sign on the roof says Reisdorf. Please, hurry!"_

"Okay, put the phone down and don't move, we'll come to you." Sandman said and the line went dead.

When they arrived at Berlin, the city was all ripped apart.

"Athena team is going after the daughter, we're going to watch their backs."

Nikolai landed the chopper on a roof and everyone jumped out.

"This is Metal 0-1, roof secure. Green light on Granite. Frost, get on overwatch!" Sandman said through the earpiece. They moved to the northwest corner of the roof. Frost took out his M14 EBR Scoped and aimed at the hotel across the street.

"Granite 0-1, we're in position." Price said.

"_Solid Copy, Black Viking. Will relay_." Said the pilot.

"Hostiles on the roof!" noticed Melody and took a firing position. They sniped out the Russians on the roof of the hotel.

"_Granite 0-1, overwatch established_." The pilot announced.

"_Copy that. We're inbound_." Said the Granite Team leader.

The helicopter with the codename Little Bird dropped off the Granite team on the roof. As they are about to move into the building, they took fire from their left side.

"Granite's got company. Doorway on the left." Yuri said. "Four more. Keep em covered."

The team started to fire at the incoming Russians.

"You're clear, Granite. Keep movin." Confirmed Soap.

"_Thanks for the assist. __We owe you one"_ The Granite Team leader said. The Granite team rappelled down from the roof to the fifth floor. They stuck up by a door.

"_Breaching now."_ They heard through the earpiece. They entered the room.

"_Shit! Left side! Got two more__! Get out! __Get out!"_ they heard them screaming. Multiple Granite members were either cut down or wounded as they entered the room. Gunshots are heard in the comms, along with groans of pain, the room explodes and the radio goes static.

"They're gone…" whispered Melody.

"What the hell?" asked a shocked Soap.

"Granite team is down. We're going after the girl." Price said through the earpiece.

The team moved forward with the German tanks on the street, engaging Russians as they pushed on. The German Tank Commander yelled out commands in German to fire rounds at incoming infantry. As they pushed forward, the Russians retreated.

"They're falling back! Press the attack!"

But as they came to a very tall building on the left, an explosion blew off the columns of that building, knocking down Price and a car was thrown towards Melody and missed her by a few feet. The building collapsed across the entire street and crushed the tanks. A piece of debris hit near Sandman and he temporarily blacked out and shell shocks. Soap comes up and saw his hands and some soldiers wounded from the collapse of the building. Everything he heard was muffled and echoing. As his hearing recovered, Sandman moved towards him.

"We need to head to the building. Move, move!"

They moved through the collapsed building, some floors still intact. Then they jumped down a couple floors and slide down a pile of rubble. The building shook again. They continued moving through the building. They passed a destroyed tank and went onto a particularly destroyed floor with plenty of gaps.

They finally reached the street and ran to the hotel. They moved into the building and engaged more Russians. They cleared the area and moved down a set of stairs.

"Let's go! Let's go!" Sandman ordered. They moved across the lobby and moved up the staircase. "Up the stairs! Get to the roof!"

"Metal 0-1, ISR shows they're extracting the girl now. Advise you stand down and head to an alternate LZ."

"No! We can make it! Soap, this way!"

As they moved up to the third floor, Alena could be heard screaming. "Here! Help! I'm in here!"

"She's behind the door!" exclaimed Soap. The two of them cleared out the few remaining hostiles in the corridor. Alena was heard screaming desperately.

"Get that door open! GO!" ordered Sandman. They stacked up by the door. "Soap, hit the door!"

Soap stacked up. As soon as Sandman twisted open the door handle, a beep is heard and the door explodes, throwing back Sandman and Soap. Two Russians moved towards them, Soap pulled out Sandman's pistol and killed them. As they get up, Alena screamed as the Russian Hind took off.

"Help me!" screamed the girl.

On the helicopter, Soap could've sworn that he saw Chloe.

_That can't be her…_ he thought.

Sandman aimed his MK14 and fired four shots, but Soap held Sandman's rifle down he misses. The helicopter escaped.

"We can't risk it!" said MacTavish. "Price, negative precious cargo. We lost her."


	22. Chapter 21

_**3 months later...**  
><em>

_The trees whispered in the wind as their leaves fluttered. It was a cold night, and the moon could be seen peeking out from behind a cover of dark clouds. The hill above her house was shrouded in darkness._

_Chloe wandered up the muddy trail, wearing her military boots and black leather jacket. Several inches of her dark blue shirt stuck out below the jacket. Her blond hair shone in the moonlight. Despite the chilly night, the peace of mind the trip would bring had spurred her into action. She smiled humorlessly as she came around a bend in the trail and started down a small slope toward an old apple orchard. She remembered how her dad taught her how to ride the bike there. _

_The moon was huge tonight. Really huge – so big, in fact, that she could even see the dark spots on it. Red spots, to be exact._

_**Wait, red spots… Like blood…**_

_With mounting horror, Chloe realized that those spots did indeed look like blood – those horrible things that had haunted her nightmares for the past several months. She had awoken many times after seeing dead bodies and body parts everywhere she looked. Chloe squeezed her eyes shut and counted to ten before she opened them again. She shook her head clear and continued on the path through the dark trees. Even as an adult, she still found the area creepy – the way the trees seemed to stoop over the path, the abandoned cart lying off to the side, the way the dead leaves all over the ground rustled in the wind. The whole thing was creepy._

_She could feel shivers down her spine as she heard some rustling behind her. She slowly turned around and screamed when a faceless person grabbed her around the throat. _

Chloe awoke with a strangled scream. It took her a moment to realize that she was at the base, not at her old house. She silently got out of bed and went to the balcony to get some fresh air. It was exactly a year since she found out about the task force, a year since she vowed to be on the good side and avenge her father… and yet she was on their arch enemy's team. The whole year flashed before her eyes in a quick motion, but the events from the last couple of months seemed to torture her mind the most.

She could see that moment like it was yesterday. It was just a typical Friday, two days after she came back from a failed mission when the task force saved the president and his daughter – not that she was sad or anything, when she received the e-mail that changed her life forever:

_The Task Force is dead._

Those five words made Chloe die a hundred times inside. She still remembered how she thrashed her room and almost killed Adeline when she entered in the most unlucky moment. She remembered clearly how she visited the base that was empty as ever. She remembered her unhealthy addiction to pain-killers and her one-night hook-ups. She remembered the hate that she had for everyone: for Makarov, for the other side, but most of all for herself, because she wasn't able to say a proper goodbye to her friends: Melody, Mike, Price…and Soap.

"_Hey, whatcha doin?" asked Chloe taking a seat beside Soap, under their favorite tree at the base._

"_Enjoying the silence before you came here" he replied lazily. "Aren't you supposed to be training or something, like all the newbies?" _

"_You know I hate people."_

"_But you don't hate me" MacTavish smirked._

"_Don't push your luck, Scotland."_

"_Please, I know you adore me." He retorted._

"_What's there to adore about you?" She questioned. _

"_My face. My body. My charisma. My amazing abilities in bed. My fucking everything."_

_That was the first time when she actually laughed for real since she arrived at the base._

* * *

><p>"<em>Shoulders straight. Chin up. Eyes on the target. Come on Chloe, you're not going to kill Makarov if you don't know how to use a gun." Price scolded her.<em>

"_It's three in the morning and I haven't slept well. Can't we do it later?" Chloe whined. She always thought that she was a badass, but with Price as her mentor, she was ready to be anyone but a badass. _

"_No. By seven you're going to be as good as any other soldier. Come on, hold the gun properly, this isn't a toy. You have to be careful with it, nobody's joking around, especially not Makarov. Arms straight!" _

"_Can we have a little break?" Chloe asked hopefully. She was barely standing on her feet and her body hurt already._

"_Breaks are for pussies. Reload faster and get your head in the game!"_

_Even though that night was the most horrible night in her life, she spent it bonding with Price so she could know him better. And indeed, by seven, she was as good as Price himself._

* * *

><p>"<em>Melody, where did you get the scotch?" Chloe asked when she saw Melody holding a bottle of Glendronach in her right hand and a bag in the other one.<em>

"_I took it from Price's liquor cabinet." Melody smiled knowing that the old man will be a little bit furious since it was his favorite twenty-five year old scotch._

"_Well, what's the occasion anyway? I'm always in the mood for a good drink, but it's more fun with a reason."_

"_Don't pretend that you don't know what today is. It's your birthday." Melody said pouring the liquid in two plastic cups._

"_How did you found out?" knowing that Melody won't say about her secret source, she quickly added, "Just don't tell anyone."_

_Melody nodded, but she told MacTavish about it. After all, he knew exactly when Melody was keeping a secret from him._

* * *

><p>"<em>Mike, get the camera away from me." Chloe pushed Snake away.<em>

"_Hey, it's your second day in the military life, I want to record it, and so you can show it to your kids and tell them that they're never going to be a badass like you. Also, it was the Boss's orders."_

"_Price, really?" Chloe arched her eyebrow. She wouldn't believe that Price it in him._

"_Trust me, you're going to thank me when you're going to be older."_

"_Ugh." The girl just sat in place emotionless. "Hey, wanna play a game?"_

"_Sure, I like games. What do you have in mind?" _

_"A spelling game," Chloe said, smiling wryly. "See if you can spell 'antidisestablishmentarianism '."_

_"I, er,__what?__"_

_"Go on!" she said encouragingly._

_Snake sat in a flabbergasted silence for a moment, before switching off the camera. "You know, I think that's __plenty__of footage for now!"_

It took her a moment to realize she had burst into tears. Who could've known that all those pointless memories could affect her that much?

"Chloe, what are you doing here? It's like freezing here." Lekha said, turning Chloe around to face him. When he saw the pained expression on her face, he quickly pulled her in a hug. "Don't worry, it's going to be okay. Come on, let's go back to bed."

**YES! I'm staying alive! I just checked the calendar today and i was like: Ho Lee Fuk, it's December already. I gotz to update. So, here it is. I'm sorry if it's short and i'm sorry for the time jump, i'll hopefully explain everything next time. Thank you for reading this story and i love all of you! Happy winter!**


	23. Chapter 22

**Well, i'm super sorry. You could be stuck with me and my lame apologies or read my chapter. Enjoy!**

The unreliable light of the lantern in the hands of the commander wandered like a pale yellow stain on the walls, licking the damp floor and disappearing completely when the lantern was pointed into the distance. There was deep darkness ahead, which was greedily devouring the weak beams of their pocket flashlights from just ten paces away. The footsteps on the tile floor squeaked with a whining and melancholic sound, gliding into nowhere, and the breathing and the rhythmic footfalls of the booted people walking behind it punctuated the silence.

"It's too quiet in here" Price whispered, trying not to push their luck. Makarov was one sneaky bastard, so they couldn't get their guards down. Danger was not something that just came from the north or the south – from soldiers or dogs. It could hide above them, on the walls or at the sides behind the sealed doors of former utility rooms or secret exits.

Hotel "Oasis" was too dark and empty, that's why the Price's lantern was wandering along the walls, and the fingers of the people at the back of the formation stroked the safety locks of their machine guns, ready to fix them into firing mode at any moment and to lunge at their triggers. That's why they said little as they walked: they were left alone with their thoughts and wonders.

Soap was starting to get tired already; he walked and walked but the tense silence was killing him from inside. He was looking ahead without success, because his head was spinning to the rhythmic steps, heavily and hysterically, just like the power of darkness could squeeze the mind of the most reckless of daredevils in a vice of irrational horror.

He tried to think about how they were going to get to Makarov, he tried to make a scenario in his head, but slowly a burning pain and fatigue was spreading in his muscles, rising from his bent legs through his back, into his arms and pushing any complicated thoughts right out of his head.

Hot, salty sweat dripped onto his forehead, at first slowly, in tiny droplets, and then the drops had grown and became heavier, flowing down his face, getting into his eyes, and there was no chance of wiping them away because he couldn't take his fingers of the trigger. Blood was pounding louder and louder in his ears, and Soap remembered that when he was little he liked to adopt an uncomfortable pose in order to hear the blood pounding in his ears because the sound reminded him of the steps of soldiers on parade. And if he closed his eyes, he could imagine he was a marshal leading the parade and faithful divisions were passing him, measuring their paces, and saluting him. But he couldn't take his eyes of the yellow stain of the lantern that was lighting the way.

Finally, Price said without turning around:

"I guess they're not here after all."

Soap exchanged glances with Melody, who was walking in the back alongside Yuri. All of them knew that Makarov had to be there because the Intel Kamarov gave them couldn't be wrong.

"Let's check the upper floors, just to be sure." MacTavish said, adjusting his gun and walking forward to the elevators. He was quickly followed by the rest of the team. Once they arrived to the highest level, they went past the broken down door to an abandoned administrative room. Maybe it was a lavatory or maybe before it was a refuge . . . Full of furniture: iron bunk-beds and crude plumbing - it was all stuffed in the tiny room. Why would a hotel have a refuge room?

There was a weak blinking light ahead. They were approaching a huge area. Their eyes needed to get adjusted to the bright light that was embracing the room. Before any of them could realize that it was a dead end, they heard footsteps behind them.

"I'm so glad you came" They heard their most-hated Russian voice. Makarov, alongside a few other soldiers were standing at the entrance. They were outnumbered and the smile playing on Makarov's lips was annoying every inch of their bodies. "Drop the weapons and nobody will get hurt"

Price looked at his team and gave them a short nod to drop their weapons. They did as they were told. Makarov smirked at them and their incapability. He looked at a soldier and gave him a sign to take the guns. "Now, I didn't invite you here so you could wave around with your rifles."

"That's why you brought your whole team so they could do it?" Melody asked, her voice filled with venom.

"Ah, Johnston. Haven't seen you in a while… How's your dad?" Makarov knew perfectly that he hit the right spot. The girl visibly tensed and looked like she was ready to kill that bastard with her bare hands. "Where was I? Oh, I remember. After that horrible lie that you spread across the world about you being dead, something bad happened. Something, we can call, "the other side rising"."

"What are you talking about?" Price asked.

"Right, I forgot that our national heroes think that I'm the only evil in this entire world – but you were wrong. You think after your so called "death", I'll be the only one taking advantage of that?" Silence filled the room, making everyone deal with the new information they got. "Now you have two choices: either you join me or you die. Which one's going to be?"

Yuri sneered, "Please, I'd rather be dead than work with you"

"He made his choice" Makarov sighed and with a swift motion, he took a pistol out of his jacket and shot Yuri three times in the chest. Yuri fell dead on the floor.

"You son of a bitch!" Soap exclaimed, rushing to Yuri's body to see if there was any chance for him to survive, even though he knew it was the end for his teammate.

"You should all make sure not to make the same mistake. Now I know you all have too much fucking pride and you would rather die like your pathetic dog, that's why I brought something that would make you reconsider your answer." Makarov turned to a soldier and made him a sign. A few minutes later he brought in a person. They couldn't recognize him because his head was covered. When the cover was removed, all four former members of the Task Force 141 gasped.

Soap couldn't believe his eyes: it was Chloe. She looked as surprised as him, the only difference was that Makarov wasn't pointing a gun to Soap's temple.

"This isn't what we agreed on!" a soldier said, stepping closer to Makarov. He just laughed bitterly.

"Life isn't fair, Lekha. But you were a great assistant and teammate. I couldn't have done this without you, so this kill will be dedicated to you." With a snap of Makarov's fingers, two soldiers shot Lekha, earning a scream from Chloe and another dead body on the floor. "Well, isn't this entertaining? We should do this more often. Back to my question: are you going to die or join me?"

Chloe casted a sideways glance to Zhenya, who was standing on her right, and mouthed "help".

_*a little ways down the road*_

"Hey there!" Adeline said, taking a seat on the bench next to Chloe. "How are you feeling?"

"Anxious. Weird. Happy. I don't know, it's like a bowl full of emotions." She replied, looking at the garden from outside the church.

"I must admit, when I found out about your history, I kind of thought you're going to be the one in the white dress." Chloe just laughed.

"Me? Oh, no. They were meant for each other. Kind of sad, though, they're all moving on with their lives and I still sleep with an AK-47 under my bed."

"Don't worry, one day, you'll meet the right guy." Adeline said, resting her hands on her baby bump. "Or you already met him, but you don't know it's him, yet."

They heard the back door open and they saw Nikolai, "Maid of honor, you're being summoned."

Chloe reluctantly stood up and walked to him, "God, what now?"

**I decided to make a last update this year. Thank you guys for reading/reviewing/favoriting my story and you mean a world to me. Happy Holidays and may all your wishes come true! I love you all!**


	24. Chapter 23

**There is no possible excuse for this three months long hiatus. I just had a horrible case of writer's block and now my inspiration is coming back to me now. I can't tell you when the next update is going to happen, but i'll try to work something out. I apologize for the long wait, and i know this chapter is not amazing, but it's something! Please enjoy!**

There will be a time when they'll be saying something like, _"Hey, do you remember the day we killed Makarov?"_

But that wasn't that day.

For a moment, Chloe thought that Zhenya might actually side with Makarov and watch him shoot her brains out…until she saw him point his gun at Makarov. Seconds later, the sound of gunshots rang through the room and everything turned into a big fight zone. Zhenya shot Makarov in his forearm, making him drop his weapon and run toward the exit with his men covering him. Soap ran up to Chloe and helped her get to cover while Melody and Price were shooting down their enemies. When the room was clear, it was filled with tensed silence that was playing on their minds.

_What do you do in circumstances like those? Do you just hug it out or you talk about it? _

Those were the questions swirling in their heads, until Price broke the silence.

"The chopper is outside, we should get going."

* * *

><p>"Do you remember anything from yesterday?" Doctor Advait asked. The hospital wing was empty, except for Chloe, Doc Advait and Soap, who was sent there to check on the girl.<p>

"We were getting ready for a mission…" she started.

"Who were _'we'_?" the doctor required.

"Me, Zhenya and Lekha." Chloe replied. "Then, Felix said that Makarov needed me and then I blacked out. When I woke up, I was tied to a chair and I couldn't see anything. Two men dragged me in a room, and I saw Price, Melody, Soap and Yuri's corpse. Afterwards… gunshots. Lekha died, Makarov was shot but he escaped and later I fell asleep."

Advait nodded and wrote down something on his notepad. "Looks like she's fine, just a little bit shocked. MacTavish, care to assist her to her room?"

Soap helped Chloe stand up on her feet as they left the room. Once they were at a safe distance from any living soul, Chloe asked a question that was bugging her since she saw John.

"Why are you alive?"

He was a little taken aback by her sudden question, "I could ask you the same."

"Who sent me the mail that the whole team died? Why would you do such a thing? You have no idea how much it broke my heart when I read the message."

"And you think I was fine when you were gone? When I woke up and you were gone, I knew it had to do something with Makarov. And when I saw you on the plane, back when you kidnapped the Russian president's daughter, I thought I lost you for good. And then you waltz in back into our lives like nothing happened!" MacTavish said, voice rising

"I never asked you to save my life. You have no idea how broken I was when I was on Makarov's side once again. I was taking drugs. I was drinking at night. I had a bunch of random hook-ups with the purpose of forgetting you. You thought my life was easy there? Each time I did something wrong, I ended up in Felix's torture room. My whole body is covered with scars. Each time I was in there, I was hoping I would die to end the pain. But it never stopped." Chloe said tightly, volume increasing to match his.

"Don't play the pity card on me, Salling. You had to realize what you agreed on when you joined Makarov's side" John snapped.

"I was saving your sorry ass when you got shot with a poisoned bullet. You were dying. I had to do something. But, to be honest, I wish I never did." Chloe snapped back.

"Really," scoffed Soap, "then enlighten me, Chloe – why are you here in the first place? Because Price promised your dad to take care of you, that's why. But since you always play the failing hero, you need to be rescued all the time. Maybe your fate will be just like your father's"

"Don't you dare talk about my father." Chloe hissed, "He was a better man than you will ever be."

"And yet I don't see him here now" Soap retorted. "And with your progress, you won't be here for long, either."

"You don't know what I'm capable of." Chloe said sharply. "Just because you're not as screwed up as I am, doesn't mean that you're better. You have no right to judge my choices and what am I doing with my life. How could I be so stupid to actually think that you might care."

She broke off and blinked back the tears beginning to brim in her eyes.

"I think I can get to the room by myself." Chloe whispered as she started walking forward, leaving Soap behind.

"Don't you see that this is what we always do?" he screamed from behind, loud enough to make her turn around. "We don't see each other for months and when the big romantic encounter is supposed to happen we always start a fight."

"Don't you know that this happens only in those romantic sappy movies?" Chloe asked.

"Then let's make our life like those romantic sappy movies even for a while." Soap ran up to her and took her hand in his. "Now I'll walk you to your room and we'll talk about something completely random and weird."

"Like, penguins?" Chloe suggested with a smile.

"Yeah, why not?"

* * *

><p>Chloe collapsed on the couch when she got to her room. After all these months, she was emotionally exhausted. She knew she had a lot of unresolved things left behind. She wasn't totally blind to the hurt that shined in Soap's eyes in their earlier argument. She wiped a hand over her face. A knock on the door interrupted her peaceful state of mind.<p>

"Can I come in?" asked Melody behind the door.

"Sure" came out Chloe's instant response. "How are you? How were you holding up here?"

"I had my hands full of problems. Perhaps you can tell me where your hands have been?"

Chloe sighed, "My hands were tied behind my back without a chance to do something freely."

"You know everything looks different in the harsh light of reality" Melody said.

"I had to learn this the hard way."

"What was Makarov talking about? What other side?" questioned Melody. Chloe didn't know how to reply to those questions. "You don't have to keep secrets from me. It's okay if you want to, but you don't have to."

"It's not a secret, I just don't know how to answer because I don't know about it either. Lekha knew about it, he was Makarov's right hand, but since he's dead, I don't think anybody else knows much."

"What about your friend Zhenya? Price is actually talking to him right now." Informed her Melody.

"He told me once about a trader's market. We used to get weed from there –"

"You're a drug addict?" asked Melody surprised.

"I'm not anymore. But back to my point, Zhenya told me that when Lekha went there, he heard about the other side from a magician or something like that."

"Do you know where this market is located?"

"I don't, but Zhenya does." After a few moments of silence, Chloe spoke up, "Melody, you have a car, right?"

"Yeah, I do. Why?"

"Can I borrow it? I have something I need to do."

* * *

><p>Chloe arrived at the right address after circling around the neighborhood for half an hour. She got out of the car and walked to the door.<p>

_What the hell she was going to say?_

She knocked twice and waited for a response. She heard the door being unlocked and a girl opened the door. Adeline, Chloe's ex-roommate, was Lekha's sister. They used to share a room the first few weeks she joined Makarov's side, but then Adeline moved out.

"Salling? Never thought I'd see your face again." She greeted Chloe coldly.

"Adeline. I came here to talk. Can I come in? The chat will be quite delicate."

Adeline eyed her suspiciously, but let her into her house. It wasn't too big, just the perfect amount of space to have parties because that's obviously why Adeline bought her own house.

"I don't have a lot of time, spill it."

"Lekha's dead." Chloe said. The shock on Adeline's face was visible. Her eyes were filled with sadness. "I'm sorry –"

"Please don't say you're sorry. You so clearly are not." Adeline said, every word dripping with venom.

"I am." Argued Chloe. "I just wanted to tell you this because I know Makarov doesn't give two fucks about his soldiers. You had the right to know."

"This is just not fair." Adeline wiped the tears that escaped from the corner of her eyes.

"There might be a place for kindness and fairness but this is definitely not one of them." Chloe replied and went out of the door.

**Thanks for reading! I love you all :***


	25. Chapter 24

**Hello my dearest readers! I've realized that it's been over a year since i updated my stories. If you care why this sudden hiatus happened, you can read my author's note, and if not, just skip straight to the story (I'll try to make it as short as possible) . Basically, my family and i had a major move to another country. And not just another country, but another freaking continent! Now i live in the best city in the world and it inspired me to write again. But because i was missing my computer, i had to wait a few more months for my new laptop. Then the finals started. Then the new semester. And now i'm here. Also, i've re-read my story and i discovered some MAJOR flaws in it, like the development of Chloe's and John's relationship, characters' backstories, continuity and so on, and you can expect some changes in the previous chapters. I realized i have a lot to work on, but until i correct everything, please bear with me. Alright, you can go and read on (I know the chapter's not that long, but i promise the next one will be bigger). Enjoy! :)**

* * *

><p>"Come on, ladies. You can't expect only sunny days in the battlefield!"<p>

The rough fall weather made it harder for soldiers to train outside. Some couldn't perform well under the pressure of running six miles in under twenty minutes, in mud and pouring rain. Others couldn't wait to test themselves in performing the slippery obstacle course. Price insisted that everyone should practice no matter what was going on outside, especially that they were warned about the _other side._ Even though more than five months passed since their last encounter with Makarov (and no one heard a word about him since then), John knew better than to slack off. He knew that it was just the calm before storm, and he wasn't thinking about rain storms. He knew that this time, it won't be just a regular Makarov comeback, but something big. Extra big.

"I don't understand if you're missing on purpose or you're just a bunch of incompetent idiots!"

He let out an uneasy sigh as he watched his soldiers shoot their targets in the light drizzle. He watched all those young men, who were sacrificing their lives to defend their country. Superheroes are not people with capes and powers. The real superheroes were right there:

In the fog he could see the outline of John MacTavish, probably the greatest man to walk the Earth. Until this day, Price regrets making fun of him on their first day and underestimating him. To be fair, if a tall and awkward looking guy came in and presented himself by the name of Soap, anyone would laugh. But now, the same Soap was aiming at targets and hitting them flawlessly in the light rain and newly formed fog, without even blinking. A sudden feeling of pride came over Price, the same kind of pride a father has when his son wins a high school football game. Realizing that he was minutes away from growing lady parts, he switched his attention to someone else.

To Soap's right, Snake was reloading his pistol. Snake is just a shadow of the past and an old nickname, now the guy was going by Mike. Poor fella spent a lot of time in a coma after a failed mission. Everyone was eternally grateful that he made it back to the land of the living. He spent the last few months training like crazy, even though the doctors advised him not to. Price laughed at the thought that they recruit only people with an abnormally high stubbornness level. By looking at the barely hit targets, he felt like Mike's aim is not what it used to be, but John was sure he was going to get better.

A couple of rows to Mike's right, Zhenya was located. A former engineer who gave up on his PHD to join the army. Foolish decision, if you ask Price, but he was a great asset to their team after Makarov left him behind. Zhenya's knowledge helped improve some devices they've been working on and he perfected a lot of their gears. The thing was that he had no idea where his little sister was, because last time he saw her was almost six months ago. That made him only more thirsty for blood and revenge. Price didn't know if that was a good thing, or not.

Melody, one of Price's most valuable soldiers was not here. She was away visiting her family, because after being inches away from death, she realized she had to spend more time with the people she loved. Price knew her story and everything that happened to her, that's why he always treated her with respect and even admiration, because he knew for a fact that not everyone could go through what she's been through and still end up sane. She was a great leader and the reason the team didn't fall apart.

Price looked at all the soldiers surrounding him and noticed that a certain person was missing. Chloe was the most complicated member of their company. When she returned from Makarov, she was a complete mess, both physically and mentally. The doctors gave her the diagnose of bipolar disorder, but with a lot of medication and rest, she became better. Even though there was no cure for such cases, she was fighting to overcome her symptoms. At first, Price didn't trust her with a gun, but she convinced him that she can handle it. First weeks she was required to have someone to supervise her, but with time they let her be. This is why John was weirded out: she never missed training, usually being the first one there.

Price squinted his eyes, because both the rain and the fog became denser, and he thought it might turn dangerous to shoot in those poor vision conditions. "Alright people, that's it for today. 'Tavish, can i speak to you?" he shouted, as people started leaving.

Soap made his way through the crowd, pointlessly shaking water out of his mohawk, even though minutes later it's going to be soaking again, "What's going on, ol' man?"

"Have you seen Chloe?" Price asked, joining MacTavish and walking behind everyone else.

"No, but i remember she told me about her doctor appointment today. " replied John, hitting a rock with the top of his boot. "She might be absent from the next couple of trainings."

"If the weather will keep getting worse, there will be no training." Price intertwined his fingers above his head, to form some sort of protection against the harsh drops of rain.

When they made it inside, Price waited for Soap to drop off his weapon, and then they both continued to Price's office. Soap liked the previous one better: he missed the cherry color of the walls and the smell of wood, expensive scotch and cheap cigars. The new one looked like an office from a mental institution, just like the rest of the base. The worst part about faking their deaths was leaving their old quarters behind. He liked the landscapes surrounding their previous location: all the forests, rivers and mountains. Of course, they had a shitty excuse of a forest surrounding the east part of this base, but the rest was clear desert. Argentina was a nice place for a hideout, but Soap was nostalgic for his previous home.

When they entered Price's office, Soap sat down on the most uncomfortable plastic chair ever, across the table. He put his head into his hands and closed his eyes. He was tired, not from training, but from not knowing or taking any action. All this time they were searching for any lead on Makarov's location, or any sign that he was alive at all. The government officially became worried, alongside the ex-TaskForce. Rumours began floating that the other side silently killed Makarov, leaving to evidence whatsoever. MacTavish remembered what happened to Kamarov's base and shivers ran down his spine. Maybe their biggest mistake was focusing only on Makarov, forgetting that he has family.

In his free time, Soap researched Makarov's family. At this point, John thought that his family was messed up, but when he read the files on Makarov's relatives, he realized that his family was actually normal. Makarov's mother, Milena, was a high class journalist from a strict religious family. When she became pregnant with Vladimir out of wedlock, her parents disowned her. Vladimir's father fled the city after finding out he was going to be a dad. Four years later, Milena got married to an university teacher, and she got pregnant with Felix. Unfortunately, her husband died because of overdose, and she started drinking during her pregnancy. Felix was born premature, and at the age of fifteen he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. After their mother died when Vladimir was twenty-one, Vladimir found his father and shot him, making it look like a suicide.

From that point on, Makarov climbed his way up from being a dangerous criminal, to a serial killer, to a terrorist trying to take over the world. Soap couldn't stand him, but the fact that he took care of his brother all this time, made him find some sort of respect towards Makarov. An unexpected thunder made him snap out of his thoughts.

"Any news?" Soap asked hopefully. The long silence Price gave in response crushed his hope into a million tiny pieces. "Look, i know it's a long shot, but how about we go check the trader's market Chloe and Zhenya were talking 'bout?

Price, who was all this time looking at his liquor cabinet, decided he wasn't in the mood for a drink at two in the afternoon and sat down across Soap. "You're really gonna go to a shady ass place somewhere in Russia and find a magician? That sounds like something they would make a movie out of. Plus, that was like a lifetime ago, the other side must have gotten him already."

"And what if they didn't?" argued Soap, "What if he's still there? That might be our best chance to find out somethin'. And at this point, i'll take anythin', 'cause i'm tired of sittin' in this hellhole and doing the same shit over and over and over again. Those targets won't have a clear spot that was not damaged from bullets, for fuck's sake."

Price didn't reply instantly. He knew how frustrated the young one must have felt. He felt the same years ago, when MacMillan would make him stay in their base for weeks. But now the times were different. They were doing it for protection, so they could be ready when there is going to be a strike. Price didn't want to break the unity of their team by sending a couple of people to investigate a dead end.

"Who do you propose we could send?"

Soap was taken aback by this response. Could Price be seriously considering the idea of checking out the traders' market? "I think Zhenya would be the obvious choice. Nikolai too. I could go for back-up"

Price thought about his answer for a moment, "I wouldn't recommend you."

"No, no, no, no, no! Don't do this to me, ol' man" Soap suddenly stood up, frustrated, "I was the one who came up with the idea, you can't let the best soldier you have sit this one out."

Price sighed, "Modest as always... Well, like you said, you're '_the best soldier',_ so i can't go around wasting your _talents_ on an intel gathering mission. Plus, your accent will give you away."

His response came out sarcastic and kind of mocking. Soap wasn't ready to give up on this yet, "There are a ton of soldiers here that will protect the base in case of something. The three of us will be back before you even realize. And i'll be silent. I won't say a thing. I swear."

Price raised an eyebrow at Soap, questioning the efficiency of his plan. He felt bad for the young man, but at the same time, Price knew that no matter what he's going to say, Soap is going to go anyway. "You will head out once the weather becomes better."

"Thanks, ol' man." Soap shook Price's hand and headed to the door.

"Just don't be dissapointed if this will turn out to be a dead end."

"I won't be."

Soap closed the door and started walking towards his and Chloe's room. It was nice to have someone like her around him. He was helping her with getting through rough moods and she was helping him with relieving stress at night. But the age difference played a big part in their misunderstandings, Soap being thirty one and Chloe twenty three. The first weeks back were really hard for them, as they were trying to figure out what was sort of relationship existed between them. The time apart only strenghtened their relationship and right now, they were actually happy, considering everything that was going on.

When he entered her room, he saw Chloe sitting on the bed, her back turned to him, watching the rain.

"Hey" he said quietly, joining her on the bed and putting an arm around her and bringing her closer.

"Hey" she greeted him, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"How did your appointment go?" he asked concerned.

"Boring as usual. They just mumbled a bunch of doctor-ish stuff and told me i was making progress."

"That's good, isn't it?" Soap said,

"Uh-huh." She stood up and walked closer to the window. "I just miss the excitement and thrill of the action on the battlefield. I feel like the greyness of the base is going to drive me insane and - "

"I'm going to Russia."

Chloe suddenly turned around, to check if what she heard was real. "No way. You must be lying, Price would never - "

"He agreed not less than fifteen minutes ago." Soap interrupted her again. She looked like she was ready to kill him with her bare hands.

"Where are you going exactly?" she inquired.

"The traders' market you were talking about. We're gonna find the crazy wizard or whatever and question him about the other side."

"Lovely." She spat out with venom. "And there's probably no way i can come."

"You will stand out like a white raven." argued Soap.

"Said the man with the Scottish accent." she snapped back. She became aware of the fact that her breath quickened and anger started rising in her. She stopped for a few seconds and leaned against the cold wall. With a few deep breathes and concentrating on something else, she continued, "I'm sorry. It's just really really really unfair. I've been there and i know that place. You and whoever you're going with - Russian, American, or anyone inbetween - are going to stand out anyway. They smell the new people. They will eat you like prey."

"Then we'll have to blend it. We have time to prepare anyways. Until the rain calms down, we won't be able to go anywhere." Soap also stood up and walked over to Chloe, giving her a light kiss on the head, "I'm gonna go shower."

"Sure" she whispered, looking back to the window.

The weather became even worse, the wind howling like a werewolf at the full moon. The rain created a wall of water that separated them from the outside world. It felt like the nature was warning them from something. It's not like they were both superstitious, but in times like these, everything could be a bad sign.

Chloe heard John cough and turned to him. "Care to join me?" he asked, smirking and holding out his hand.

_"It sucks to be here, but i can at least make my time enjoyable"_, she thought before taking his hand.


	26. Chapter 25

**So, I'm kind of a bad author. To be fair, my new school is a bitch. Yeah. But in total seriousness, I had a draft of this chapter since April, but I didn't feel like it was ready, so I had this internal debate whether I should upload it or not. Today, I completely rewrote my chapter, and I'm pretty happy with it. In other news, summer is so close, I can almost taste it! Which means, hopefully, no school and more updates! Yaaay :) Thanks guys for your continued support, even though I'm so bad, I really appreciate it. Enjoy!**

Chloe woke up around six in the morning and alone, as usual. Soap always considered himself an early bird, so he made sure to wake up at five o'clock every day, and do as much work as humanly possible. Chloe on the other hand, believed that she was more of a night owl, and enjoyed the silence of dark after a night of desire more than the singing of their feathered friends at sunrise. Therefore, the cold side of the bed wasn't that big of a surprise at all.

She got out of bed and stretched near the window, admiring the unusual nice weather. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a note neatly folded on the dresser. She knew it was not from Soap: that guy had almost no patience and he couldn't care less about folding anything carefully, whether it be notes or shirts. When Chloe picked it up, she realized that it was indeed from him, which nicely surprised her.

_"Meet me tomorrow at the basketball court, 11:50pm_

_-John"_

A confused look appeared on Chloe's face. She knew that if everything went smooth on his mission, then the team would be back by five or four in the afternoon. They also weren't leaving until seven in the morning, so he had plenty of time to just tell her whatever he needed. At the same time, she knew it was kind of a spontaneous mission, so they had to use all of their time to prep the necessary equipment and make a plan. She decided to stop wasting time, and maybe try and catch John before he left and wish him good luck.

When Chloe left the room half hour later, there was so much movement outside: the base was filled with excitement, because five people from the team were assigned to investigate a lead on the other side and Makarov. While she was making her way to the helicopter landing area, she overheard a bunch of rumors about this mission. Apparently Zhenya, Nikolai, Maksim, Kiril and Soap were the chosen ones. Therefore, Kiril will fly the chopper to their destination, Maksim, Zhenya and Soap are going to be working undercover, and since Nikolai was the most experienced one with flying, he will be the one getting the team out of there, if something goes wrong. Chloe didn't know how much of that information was actually accurate, but she learned to trust those soldiers. Everyone was enthusiastic about this, since it was the greatest amount of action they have gotten in a long time. But as she was walking, she heard more and more people concerned with Soap's involvement: he looked like an army man, his accent was definitely not Russian, and after General Sheppard's death he was on FBI's Most Wanted List. Those thoughts were also bugging her mind, but after his near-death experience, he vowed to be more careful.

The problem was that she didn't know if she actually believed him.

She looked at her watch and realized that she was going to be late, if she didn't pick up her pace. Pushing through people, she finally made her way out of the building. It was a weirdly beautiful day, and many soldiers took the opportunity to train outside. The helicopter zone was way in the back of the base, so she started running to make it there in time. While she was running, she noticed a bus approaching their base, so her run became slower. It looked like a school bus, but it had a dark vibe to it. She stood still to observe how it stopped at the entrance and an old man, probably older than Price came out of it. A few seconds later, she saw Price come out of the building and shake that man's hand. She wished that she were closer, so she could hear the conversation going on between those two. She saw Price's face wrinkle in concentration and he nodded at something. Then the ancient man (Chloe decided that two old men is going to be confusing, so the older one is going to be the ancient man) waved his hand and one by one people were coming out of the bus. They looked no older than Chloe, some of them looked like they barely got eighteen years old. From this distance it looked like there were twenty something of them. Priced motioned for them to follow him, and the group disappear inside the building.

Apparently, she wasn't the only one who noticed all the commotion, and a couple of men were standing around her, also observing the show. "Don't you have better things to do?" she asked in a superior tone. She was barely a corporal, but people still followed her orders. They hurriedly ran back to their tasks, while she heard the sounds of a helicopter. "Shit!"

A huge shadow of a chopper covered her, while a bunch of people shouted and cheered. She could have sworn she saw John inside, but it might have been just her imagination. She sighed and kicked a rock with the top of her feet. She decided to take advantage of this nice day and practice on her physical strength. She started walking towards the obstacle course.

Two hours later, when her shirt was soaked with sweat, breaths were uneven, heartbeats faster and throat burning from the lack of water, she decided to take a break. She took two bottles of water from the cooler next to the obstacle course, and went to sit down in the shade of a tree. That location was pretty isolated, so she wasn't worried of anyone disturbing her peace. By the time she sat down, a bottle of water was almost empty and the second one was placed at the base of her neck, to cool her down. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the contrast of the cold against her hot skin.

"Um, excuse me?"

Chloe opened her eyes and looked at the person who disturbed her peace. She was surprised to see a scrawny looking guy, with squared glasses and flannel shirt, who looked like he belonged in a chess club or comic book store. When she made eye contact with him, he got even more nervous.

"Oh, yeah. Hi! Sorry to disturb yo-"

"Are you lost, little boy? Do your parents know you're here?" She asked impolitely. She knew she should have been nicer to the kid, since he already looked shaken up.

"Ugh, I actually... The C-captain Price s-sent me here." The guy looked embarrassingly at his shoes. He looked like he was no more than nineteen, fresh out of high school. Chloe eyed him suspiciously.

"What's your name?"

The guy's head shot straight up, like he didn't believe that the question was addressed to him. "My name?"

"Well, yeah. Obviously."

"It's, um, Conrad. Conrad Williams." He extended his hand for a handshake, but Chloe instead grabbed to get herself up.

"Well, Conrad, I'm Chloe." She dusted the dirt off her pants, "What does Price want me for?"

Conrad just shrugged. He kept looking at her with a combination of awe and fear. She picked up the bottles from the ground and tossed one to him without any warning. Conrad wasn't prepared for the throw, so he dropped the bottle on the ground.

Chloe was no Sherlock Holmes, but she knew that this boy had no chance to be in the military. "Okay, so what are you doing here?"

Both of them started walking towards the main building, "I'm not allowed to talk about it."

She furrowed her eyebrows, "Great. What are you allowed to talk about?"

Conrad just shrugged once again. They made their way to Price's office in silence, with Chloe occasionally catching him starring at her. Once they entered the hallway which led to the dreaded room, Chloe saw the group that arrived earlier, with the ancient man among them. When she walked by, he didn't even pay attention to her, instead he put his hand on Conrad's shoulder to stop him from following her inside. This meant that Price planned a very serious conversation, and she did not like this idea at all.

She briefly knocked on the door before she heard a faint '_come in'_. The first thing that got her attention was the huge pile of at least twenty folders on Price's desk.

"Thank you for coming," Price said, "We need to have a discussion."

"Alright." Chloe sat down across the table, making sure to stay as far as possible from that stack, in case it falls over. "Did you talk to Soap? Did they tell you their plan?"

"Yes, yes, everything's alright. They're grown men, they will figure it all out." Chloe made a mental note about Price's vague answer. "We need to talk about something else."

"I guess you wanna talk about - " She made an indefinite gesture towards the folders "- this?"

"Indeed."

"What is all this?" Chloe asked, carefully taking the first folder on top. The name said _Damien Novak_. "Who are all those people?"

"This, is the new Task Force 181" Price answered shortly. Chloe dropped the folder on her lap.

"What? But... But I thought that we: me, Soap, Mike, Mells, Nikolai, you, we were the Task Force."

Price sighed, "And that's why I think is better to create a new one. A more _stable_ one."

Chloe didn't answer for some time. She was looking back and forth between the folders on the table and the kids outside. "So... So what, now we like, take teenagers in the army?"

"All of them passed their legal age, if that's what you're asking." Price studied the girl in front of him, "And we're not going to send them into the battlefield tomorrow. We created this, for the purpose of training the best military team in this world."

"We?"

"Me and MacMillan. You probably saw him before you entered my -"

"The ancient man?" Chloe interrupted. When she got a confused look from Price, she explained the reasoning behind the nickname.

"I would prefer if you call him by his name. Anyway, he was my captain back when I was only a sergeant. We have a long history. That's why we decided to look for the best of the best to join the Task Force."

"Wait a second there, old man. So, correct me if i'm wrong, you're telling me that those _kids_ are the best of the best?"

"Chloe, you're only five years older than most of them."

"Five years is a huge difference!" She said without thinking.

"And eight years is not?" He argued. She wanted to argue back, but it was clear that he won this round.

"What do you need from me?" she asked.

"I need you to train them." He replied calmly.

"Wait, what?" Chloe couldn't believe her ears. "You want _me_ to train _them_? Are you out of your mind, old man?"

"You won't be the only one training them. I just need you to do it before Soap comes back. Then you can co-teach or something."

"Why can't you do it? Or ancie -" She stopped herself in the middle of her sentence, "MacMillan?"

"Because we have better things to do." Was Price's simple answer. "Just teach them how to hold a gun without shooting their feet off. Or how to throw a knife. Or hand-to-hand combat."

Chloe knew that she had a choice: she could ditch the kids to some other soldier or she could train them and maybe take her mind off Soap.

"Fine, I'll do it. Give me their names."

When she closed the door behind her, she was relieved to see that the ancient guy wasn't there. The chatter between the twenty three new people in the base came to a complete silence when they noticed her.

"Follow me." That was all Chloe said. She made her way past them and walked them outside. It was noon, and the sun was already hiding behind thick clouds, but there was no signs of rain. She took them out to a field that had plastic dummies made for hand to hand combat practices. When she stopped, the 'students' gathered around her, forming a semi-circle.

"Here's the deal: it's your first day, and I don't want to stress you too much. I also don't trust you to run around the base with guns. So, I made the decision that you're going to work on your fighting techniques. So pair up, show me what you got, and we'll make improvements on whatever it is that you're not good at." Instead of doing what they were told, the people were just standing in their spots, almost afraid to move, "Don't make me repeat myself twice."

When everybody started pairing up, Chloe decided to go and check what Mike has been up to. She didn't talk to him in a while, and she really missed her friend. A slight tap on her shoulder required her attention.

"What do you want, Conrad?" she asked annoyed.

"Well, I'm the last one left, so I thought, you know, maybe, we can, like, work together? Only if you want to, of course."

Chloe still couldn't believe that the kid was actually there, because he has never looked so out of place. He reminded her of herself, and how she was stuck with Soap on her first class, and how he embarrassed her. She automatically touched her scar on her forehead, which was barely visible now.

"Why don't you train with a dummy?"

"It's not the same! You can't really, you know, exercise properly!"

Chloe rubbed her eyes: it hasn't been even five minutes, and she was tired already. "Okay, you can be my partner or whatever."

They walked to a larger space, where it would be more comfortable to train. Chloe put her hands on her hips, "Go on."

"You... you want me to hit you?" Conrad asked.

"Yeah, that's pretty much the whole point of hand-to-hand combat. You hit your enemy without using a weapon."

"But I can't hit you." Conrad said almost in a whisper, "You're a girl."

At this point, the newbies stopped training and they were just staring at the two of them. Chloe walked towards him and put a hand on his shoulder, "I understand."

He looked up with hope in his eyes. Hope which was gone the second Chloe's fist connected with his jaw, which sent him tumbling to the floor.

"Rule number one: never underestimate your opponent."


End file.
